


The Miami Affair

by MarmeLady_Orange



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Anal Sex, Canon-Typical Violence, Consent Issues are addressed, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Foursome, Graceless Castiel (Temporary), M/M, Mentions of future major character CANON deaths, Mildly Dubious Consent, Monster of the Week, Multi, Nudism, Oral Sex, Sex Curse Type Thing, Spoilers until the end of Season 12, Swingers, Textual reference to the end of season 12, Threesome, Uncomfortable obligatory PDA, Vaginal Sex, tfwbigbang2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-20 04:04:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11912835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarmeLady_Orange/pseuds/MarmeLady_Orange
Summary: When Dean diverts to Miami in order to investigate weird deaths, Sam isn’t too pleased, convinced his brother just wants a beach vacation. Until it turns out to be an actual case, one that seems to have its roots at a particular hotel – a hotel for nudists and swingers. With Dean’s cover blown, it falls onto Sam to fake being in a relationship with Castiel so they can rent a room and find the killer. It’s Dean’s turn to not be pleased!***PLEASE READ TAGS BEFORE READING. SPOILERS UNTIL THE END OF S12. DRAMATIC CANON EVENTS MENTIONED.***





	1. MONDAY/TUESDAY

**Author's Note:**

> The day is finally here, guys. It’s my first Team Free Will Big Bang and I can only hope you’ll like what I cooked up for you. The main drive for that story, I’ll admit it, was getting to portray Castiel and Sam having to pose as a couple and it being pretty awkward… it’s very funny to me, for some reason.
> 
> You have to know, just like I was for the DeanCas Big Bangs I did before, I was extra lucky to get a truly talented artist this year again. And, yeah, she didn’t shy away from the NSFW so… I couldn’t have been more happy ! I present to you the amazing Jvalentyne, please visit and follow her on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jvalentyne) and [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/JValentyne), you won’t be disappointed. Make sure to tell her how juste scrumptious her stuff is!!! ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎
> 
> Another very important part of this story is my magnificent, and trusty beta outofminutes. Please take a minute to visit her on [AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/users/outofminutes/pseuds/outofminutes) and read her stuff, she’s great!! ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎
> 
> As every time I’ve posted a Big Bang, I’m a little febrile, both excited and worried that you guys won’t like it. And I really really hope that you will. As always, please do not hesitate to share your thoughts with me, I’d love to read you.
> 
> So… there you go, I’ll leave you to it so you can start reading already. Enjoy!!!
> 
> Please note lesser quality art below, the one I’m using throughout the fic, is mine and mine only. Please don’t blame the artist!

 

If Sam had been sleeping – like he said he’d be doing – all that nonsense could have been avoided. Which was why, instead of driving his Baby in beatific peace, Dean had to endure his brother pestering him about his choice of destination.

“You’ve got nothing to go on, Dean. There’s nothing in that article that justifies us driving all the way to Florida.”

“People are dead, Sam. What else do you need? Got somewhere better to be?”

“People die everyday, and for most of them, it’s natural or accidental. I thought we had decided to check out that haunting in Illinois… at least we know that one’s the real deal.”

Dean pressed the gas pedal harder, the rumble of the engine soothing his every nerve. He kept silent, mostly because he knew he didn’t have convincing arguments to give his brother. The Illinois thing had indeed sounded legit enough. Still, that article about a couple’s mysterious death had tickled Dean’s interest mostly due to its location: Miami.

Maybe role-playing with Charlie less than a week ago had served as a trigger, but Dean believed they deserved some kind of vacation. So what if they came to find out those Florida folks died of natural causes after all? The brothers certainly could spare a day or two lounging in the sun.

The ghost in Kankakee, Illinois could wait.

“So what? You wanna work on your tan, is that it?”

Dean put his best innocent face on as he glanced at his brother. “What?”

Sam sighed and shook his head. “I’m not an idiot, man. You’ve been talking about going to the beach for years now. Just be upfront about it, no need to come up with some dummy case.”

It didn’t matter than his brother had seen through him, Dean stood his ground.

“They say the deaths are mysterious and that’s the kind of stuff we investigate. I say we check it out.” He couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from curling up. “And if it’s nothing, then yeah… might as well stay for a couple of days and chill with our toes in the sand.”

“Whatever,” Sam responded, not in the mood to argue anymore. He didn’t even bring the subject up again when they stopped at a motel in Tallahassee for some well deserved rest.

They got back on the road a mere six hours later, parking in front of the Miami Beach police station by late afternoon.

“Can you smell this, Sammy? The sun, the ocean… the coconut sunscreen,” Dean said as they got out of the car. He had his sunglasses on, but Sam still saw him wiggle his eyebrows.

“Let’s get this over with,” he simply responded, making his way into the station.

They might have been chasing the sun, so to speak, but the cooled air of the precinct felt like heaven on their heated skin. After they flashed their credentials, a policewoman led them to the detective’s office where they were greeted by a bald man sporting a slick mustache – the kind that needed to be groomed, and waxed, and twirled.

“How can I help you, agents?” Detective Martinez said, all but amicable.

While Sam took a seat on one of the chairs, Dean stayed upright and extended a hand. The reluctant detective took it and gave a single stiff shake.

“We’ve been investigating cold cases all over the country, bizarre deaths and what not. When we saw you had a couple die in a way that was deemed mysterious, we thought we’d come take a look. I’m talking about the Gasteyers? That couple found dead in their home last week?”

“That case is pretty much closed, agents. What in the world could you be looking for?”

“We’re not sure yet, but we found odd similarities in some other cases. If you don’t mind, we’d like to examine the bodies.”

The detective crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. “I can hand you a copy of the M.E.’s report if you want. Hell, I can make you a copy of everything we got… I’m telling you, there’s nothing to be found. Their deaths were natural, agents, nothing more to say about it.”

“Detective, if you don’t mind, we’d really like to look at the bodies ourselves. We have very specific things to verify, things that a regular autopsy would probably miss.”

“Are you saying we didn’t do our job properly?” the detective said, his voice now low and menacing.

Before Dean could answer, Sam cleared his throat and got back to his feet. “Of course not,” he said, smiling as he gently slapped his brother’s back. “Agent Dickinson here was the one to discover the correlation between the other victims. He knows what to look for and he’ll know real quick if we need to investigate further or not.”

Sam had to repress a satisfied smile when he noticed the purse in his brother’s lips. Sticking Dean with corpse duty was the best revenge he could have cooked up in such a short amount of time. That’d teach him to change their plans without consulting with him first.

“And while he does that, I would like to go see the family. They’re locals, aren’t they?”

“We’ve talked to their daughter already, Agent Harris. I doubt she’ll have anything more to say.”

When Sam leaned over the desk, he made sure to look the detective in the eye. “I understand that seeing the FBI get in on your business sucks, but we’re not here because we believe you to be inefficient. We work on a broader scale and have detailed information that you don’t. Details that we can’t share at this time.” He took a step back, handing out a calling card to the shorter man, praying Garth would be as good a fake FBI supervisor as Bobby was. “Our superior should be able to answer any question you may have. To a certain extent, of course.”

The detective took the card and twirled it between his fingers before looking up at Sam again. “All right. Your partner can examine the bodies,” he said before turning to Dean and pointing a finger at him, “but don’t you go and mess ‘em all up. They’re being picked up by the funeral home in the morning.”

When Dean came back to the motel later that day, it was with a couple of greasy paper bags. He dropped their dinner on the table where Sam had his nose deep in their copy of the case folder.

“Took you long enough… find anything?” Sam asked as he pulled a burger from one of the bags. He sniffed it, not too sure about the soggy sandwich. “You saw their faces, right?” he added before taking a bite.

Sitting down, Dean nodded, already with a handful of fries in his mouth. “Dunno ‘bout ya, but it looked like an O face to me.”

“Also my impression.”

Sam turned his computer so Dean could see the screen. “I know you were just shooting the shit when you said there were similar cases all over the country, but I think I actually found some.” He pointed to an article titled _Killed By Sex!_.

“What’s that? _The National Enquirer_?” Dean commented before starting to read. “Huh… a married couple was found dead… same expression on their faces… in a fucking airplane bathroom?” Dean gave his brother a disgusted look. “How people would wanna get it on in those death contraptions is beyond me.”

“It’s a popular kink, Dean. Not the point… I checked, and it’s a legit case, dubbed a natural death, too. Keep reading and then go to the other tab.”

“Interesting… they were on a flight from Miami to Chicago.” Dean clicked on the second tab to find a similar article from the same publication. “Okay, now it’s two guys, not a couple… died at about the same moment… one on his way back to New York and the other at home in North Carolina.” He looked up at his brother again. “They had both been to Miami for Spring Break.”

“You might have stumbled upon a real case after all.”

Ignoring his brother’s smug expression, Sam turned the computer back around. “So, I’ve talked to the daughter and was able to get some information about what her parents had been doing.” He waved a receipt-type page. “They spent their last weekend at a hotel right here in Miami Beach.”

“Who takes a vacation so close to—wait… it’s the Empyrean, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… how do you know that?”

“Met the manager at the police station, came in on his own when he read about the couple. He remembered them being at his hotel the weekend before they died. That’s why it took me some time, they let me talk to the guy after they were done with him.” Dean plopped some more fries in his mouth. “Total waste of time, by the way. He didn’t know shit. I think he was mostly nervous about the hotel’s reputation. Which is stupid, the name wasn’t even the paper.”

“Did he happen to tell you what kind of hotel he’s running?”

His mouth already busy with his burger, Dean could only shake his head.

“It’s a nudist resort. A swingers nudist resort.”

“Ew! Those old folks were naked swingers?”

Finding his brother’s mouthful infinitely more disgraceful, Sam still didn’t comment about it. “They weren’t that old, Dean,” he only said.

“You’re over fifty, you’re old. What about the others?”

“I couldn’t find much about the plane couple, but the two other guys were in their early twenties and pretty active on social media. Stephen Marsden was from New York, gay, and single. James Kramer identified as bisexual and was engaged. I reached out to his fiancée, she confirmed that they stayed at that same hotel before James died. But get this; Stephen and James met at the hotel and hit it off real bad. Like, they couldn’t take their hands off of each other.”

“And the fiancée couldn’t have killed them out of jealousy?”

“It’s a place for swingers, so I really doubt it. Anyway, she said she’d been having her own fun with a couple they met there.”

Dean let out an impressed whistle. “Man! Gotta wonder where these guys find chicks like that.”

“That hotel has something to do with this, I’m sure of it,” Sam continued, brushing over his brother’s amazement. “I think we’ll need to book a room.”

Dean looked around their current abode, taking in the musty browns and oranges of the dated decor. “I guess I could do without the cheap motels for a bit.” He let out an exaggerated sigh. “If we really have to, I mean.”

“Yeah, but you see, it’s not that simple. They don’t rent rooms to single guys.”

“What? Why not?”

“It’s a swingers resort, Dean. It’s for couples. Still, you won’t be surprised to know that single women can stay there without a problem.”

“Of course they can… so what? You don’t want us to dress up as women, do you?” Dean grinned at his brother. “‘Cause you’d make an ugly ass chick!”

“We both know you’re the pretty one, Dean.”

Sam smiled smugly at his brother’s offended pout. “Single men are only welcomed on Saturday evenings, at the hotel’s night club. That’s it.”

“That’s not enough time to investigate.”

“I agree. Which is why we have to book a room.”

“You said single men couldn’t—hey! There’s no way we’re posing as a couple, you hear me?”

Sam pursed his lips at the thought. “Of course not. We gotta bring someone in, and I think it should be Cas.”

“Unless you didn’t notice, Cas is a dude.”

“Technically, but mostly, he’s an angel.”

“Maybe, but don’t you think he’s been weird since he came back? Like… he killed Alfie then disappeared in Heaven. We haven’t heard from him since. Not a peep.”

“He said it was self-defense. Anyway, not only can he be here in a literal minute, he can also hold his own if anything happens. The hotel’s been LGBT friendly since it opened, so gay couples aren’t frowned upon. It’s the perfect plan.”

Dean groaned, shaking his head. “Oh… all right! I’ll get a room and go play house with Cas.” He pointed a finger at Sam’s face. “But you owe me one, you hear?”

“You’re not going, Dean. I am.”

“What? Why?”

“You met the manager of the hotel, so I’d say your cover’s blown.”

“I could have gotten interested in his hotel for personal reasons.”

“Too risky.”

Dean cleared his throat. “Why—why don’t you take Jody? She’s a cop, she can hold her own.”

“I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t go for that type of undercover work.”

“You’re not even giving her a chance?”

Dean took his phone out, thumbing his way to the sheriff’s contact information. Before Sam could object – not that it would matter to Dean – the ringing echoed in the room.

“Sheriff Mills,” she soon answered.

“Jody, it’s Dean Winchester. Sam’s here too, and you’re on speaker.”

“Hi, Jody,” Sam said, smirking at his brother.

“Hey, boys! How can I help you today?”

“Say… what do you think about an all-inclusive vacation in Miami Beach? A whole week, paid by yours truly.”

“What’s the catch?”

“You’ll have to pretend to be boinking my brother, for starters.”

Jody chuckled. “For starters?”

Before Dean could find a way to bring up the hotel’s specialties, Sam took the lead. “Not only that, but it’s a swingers hotel, Jody. Nudist swingers… Dean seems to think you’d be into that.”

Dean knew this wouldn’t work when Jody erupted in laughter. It took her some time to be able to speak again. “Guys! I honestly don’t know if I should be flattered or insulted right now.”

“I told Dean it was a bad idea.”

“She didn’t say no. And I’m pretty sure the nudism thing isn’t an obligation,” Dean said, bent on defending his idea. “So? You in, Jody?”

“I’m indeed saying no, Dean. I know what you do is important, but… running around naked and hooking up with strangers are two of the things I’d rather not do. Sorry, boys.”

As he spoke, Sam flashed Dean a triumphant smile. “No worries, Jody. I had someone else in mind anyway.”

“All right. If there’s anything else I can do to help, just let me know.”

“We will. Thanks, Jody.”

“Who else do we know?” Dean said after hanging up. “Charlie! She did say we could ask her for help if needed.”

“Dean—”

“Shut up, Sammy… I’m calling her and I’m sure she’ll be more than willing. There has to be a lot of good lookin’ chicks in a place like that.”

Finding their friend’s number, Dean pressed to call, once more putting the device on speaker. He quirked an eyebrow at his brother when he got sent to voicemail.”

“Hey, Charlie… Dean Winchester. We’re down in Miami and need some help on a case. You’d have to be fake married to my brother, but you won’t have to do stuff with him. It’s a swingers hotel, which means you could get all the ladies you want. Call me back to let us know when you can join us.”

He hung up, satisfied. “Now, we wait.”

“Don’t think we should wait for too long, Dean. Who knows where she is and how long it’d take her to drive down here?”

“She could also be in the next state.”

Sam let out a dispirited breath. “Why the hell do you care so much if I pretend being gay for a job, Dean? Are you really that obtuse?”

“What? I don’t care about that. What I care about is Castiel’s—hmm—Castiel’s flower.”

While Sam doubled over in laughter, Dean scowled at him, ready to give him a piece of his mind. The text alert on his phone prevented him to do just that as it diverted his attention to the screen. “Man… we really need to meet more women. Hunter women. Stat!”

“Charlie won’t do it?”

“She would, but she’s in fucking Vermont and can’t leave before tomorrow evening.” He worried at his lower lip, deep in thoughts, then looked up at his brother. “We could get her a plane tick—”

“Just give it up, Dean. We’re asking Cas.”

“Damn it, Sammy! You don’t get it, do you? The guy’s an angel, he’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

“I believe I do look quite human, Dean.”

The angel’s voice startled Dean who turned to see him standing beside the bed.

“How—”

“I prayed to him.” Sam smiled at Castiel. “Thanks for coming, Cas.”

“Of course. So, what is this mission you need me for?” he asked as he sat on the bed.

While Sam filled the angel in, Dean went to grab a beer from the mini fridge. As he drank, he kept staring at Castiel. He’d been back from Purgatory for some time now, but Dean still couldn’t wrap his head around it all. When Sam started explaining what would probably need to happen when they’re in public, the words spilled from Dean’s mouth before he could stop them.

“Cas can’t lie for shit, and the idea of sex makes him nervous. He can’t do this.”

Castiel arched a single eyebrow at him. “You know very well I can lie convincingly when needed. I also have some experience in the matter of intimacy, Dean, whether you want to believe it or not.”

Castiel’s confidence in the matter made Dean somewhat nervous. “How so?”

“I don’t know if you recall, but I had gotten quite close to Meg.”

“You guys kissed once.” Dean’s eyes widened. “It was once, right? And that’s all you did, right?”

“Indeed, it was a single occurrence. I believe it still counts as experience.” Before Dean could try and protest, Castiel continued. “And of course, there’s Daphne. We were married, after all.”

“Dude, pretty sure you weren’t really married. If anything, she just told you you were.”

“You’re right to say that we didn’t exchange vows in a traditional manner. Our marriage was more like a promise we made one another. We found comfort in each other, only not through penetrative sex. It’s not something I feel the need to do.”

Dean swallowed hard. “Do you still see her? Like… is that where you go when you’re not with us? Back to your wife?”

A dark shadow fell over the angel’s face and he cleared his throat. “Of course not. After I woke up in the hospital, before we took on the Leviathans, I went to see her. I explained the situation to the best of my capabilities. And I relieved her of her promise.”

“You didn’t tell her you’re an angel, did you?”

“I did… not that it matters now.” Castiel met Dean’s gaze. “She said she truly loved me, but I couldn’t give her what she wanted. I made her forget, like I did for you and—”

Dean’s own features hardened. “No, yeah, I get it.”

A sudden gloom fell over the room. Nobody spoke for some time, the only noise being the clicking of the keyboard under Sam’s fingers. Until he snapped the computer lid shut.

“The hotel’s booked; we’re checking in tomorrow.” He sent his brother an impassive gaze. “We’ll need you to man the research. You’re okay with that?”

Already pouting with his hands in his pockets, Dean rolled his eyes and huffed.

“Do I really have a choice?”


	2. WEDNESDAY

After spending the morning buying Cas some clothes, and a proper set of luggage, Sam and Castiel walked in the hotel holding hands a bit after two. As they waited to check in, Sam made sure to bring the angel to his side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“Welcome to the Empyrean Hotel and Resort. How may I help you, sirs?” the cheerful woman behind the desk greeted them. “Checking in?”

“We have a reservation. Sam and Castiel Tyler?”

Now that they had the attention of an employee, Sam could put their plan in motion. They had devised a storyline that would not make it too suspicious for them not to partake in the hotel’s particular activities. He turned to Castiel, making sure to catch his eyes as he spoke.

“Now, remember, honey,” he said in a low voice – just not low enough not to be heard by the clerk. “If you change your mind about all of this, it’s totally fine. It’s a tryout, remember?”

“I know,” Castiel answered, snaking an arm around Sam’s waist.

“If at any moment you’re uncomfortable—”

“I’ll tell you, I promise.” As he spoke, Castiel rested his head against Sam’s chest and sighed.

When he looked back at the clerk, Sam noticed the soft smile on her lips. “It’s our first time in a place like this,” he said, offering her a similar smile. “We don’t really know how it all works, but… do employees get to have fun with the guests?” he asked, hoping he didn’t sound too much like a creep.

She kept smiling as she shook her head. “Staff is forbidden to fraternize with the guest. We gotta be friendly, of course, just… not too friendly,” she explained, her cheeks now sporting a bit of red. “Any employee caught with a guest will be fired on the spot.”

“Our loss, I guess,” Sam said, squeezing the angel harder to his side before leaning over the counter. “He’s never been with a girl, but he’s kinda curious. We’re hoping to explore a bit this week, if you know what I mean.”

The clerk kept her eyes on the screen as she finalized checking them in. “I hope your vacation with us exceeds your expectations, then.” She slid key cards attached to lanyards on the counter. “You can leave your luggage here. We’ll have them brought up to your room while Billy gives you the tour.”

A man, not looking much older than twenty-five, came to greet them a second later. “Welcome to the Empyrean Hotel and Resort, gentlemen. My name is William, but everyone calls me Billy. I’ll be your guide this afternoon. If you can please follow me,” he said, leading the way to the elevators. “Clothes are mandatory on the ground floor,” he started explaining as they waited for the doors to open. “But anywhere else is fair game.”

Once inside, he pressed the button to the third floor. “The second floor is dedicated to the staff and many services the hotel provides, like laundry. No need to worry about it, though… the guests elevators don’t stop here. The employees have their own.”

The doors opened and Billy preceded them out. “On the third floor are the restaurants. We have two of them; the best Italian table in Miami, as well as a twenty-four hour buffet, also very highly rated. If you want to dine at the restaurant, you’ll need to call and book a table as soon as you can. While the buffet and its kitchen never close, the restaurant only serves dinner between seven and ten PM and has limited seating.”

Sam noticed a couple having a snack in the nude and pursed his lips; he might not be too keen on having dinner with a bunch of naked people after all.

“The nightclub is also on this floor,” Billy said as he used his own key card to open the club’s door. “You’ll need your cards to get in or out, as it’s usually reserved for the guests. Only Saturday nights is it open to anyone.” He pointed to a door on the other side of the room. “This is the outsiders access, they have their own elevator and a changing room. There’s no chance of them getting to the upper floors unless you let them in, which we’d rather you don’t do. Whatever you wanna do with them, it can happen right here,” he added, motioning to the numerous beds around the room.

“You’ll find most health amenities on the fourth floor,” Billy started explaining as they left the club. He opened a door to a staircase, talking as he climbed it. “There’s a spa where you can get massages, mani-pedis, and all sorts of skin care treatments. Again, you’d be better to make an appointment if you wanna go. You’ll find all the details in the binder in your room. There’s also a gym, which reminds me; I said you could be naked anywhere in the hotel, but I had forgotten about the gym. It’s a matter of hygiene you know. With all the sweating, they’d rather you at least wear shorts. And I am told most ladies prefer to wear sports bras when they exercise. Gotta admit, I too prefer some support for my bouncy parts.”

He opened the door to the fourth floor and walked toward the elevator. “We also have a sauna.” He turned to look at them with a knowing smile. “I won’t lie, this particular spot is pretty popular when it comes to… socializing.”

Once back in the elevator, Billy pressed the button to the last floor.

“I’m sure you saw the pictures online; this is the jewel of our hotel. Most of our guests will spend their whole day up there. We do offer daily shuttles to Miami’s only nude beach, still people seem to prefer spending their time up here.”

The doors opened on some kind of sunroom furnished with wicker sofas. There was also a small pool that connected to the bigger one outside. The reality of where they’d be spending the week hit Sam right in the face when they walked outside.

As Billy had explained, the roof indeed seemed to be where guests spent their days. And if most of them were naked and swimming, or suntanning on the many lounge chairs around the pool, a respectable amount of them were getting busy on the beds. Right there for everyone to see. At least there were privacy walls adorning three of the four rooftop sides, to Sam’s relief.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Billy said after letting them look around for a minute or two. “If you’re into that kind of thing, you oughta make sure to be up here when the sun rises. The view is an amazing one.”

As they walked around, Sam tried his best to keep his eyes anywhere but on the naked bodies sprawled all around them. Still holding his hand, Castiel didn’t seem as bothered, letting his own gaze roam over them.

Billy soon led the way back to the elevator, then to the seventh floor to accompany them to their room. As they walked in, Sam let out a relieved sigh; no more unwanted naked bits. While Castiel started rummaging through their suitcases, Sam turned to Billy who had not so discreetly cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Billy,” Sam said, sliding a five dollar bill in their guide’s extended hand. The young man seemed to hesitate, but only for a second. He folded the note to put it in his pocket, a thin smile on his lips.

“Thank you, Mr. Tyler. I wish you and your husband a very pleasant week. Let me know if I can help you in any way.” He didn’t give Sam a chance to ask for anything before turning around to leave the room, the door clicking shut behind him.

“I think five dollars wasn’t enough,” Sam mused as he went to grab his laptop.

Castiel was busy transferring their clothes to the drawers and closet, something Sam himself wouldn’t have bothered to do. He didn’t offer to help, instead setting the computer on the bistro table. While it powered up, Sam took a water bottle from the mini fridge before coming back to Skype his brother.

“What the hell? You were supposed to call me hours ago,” Sam heard Dean say before his face even appeared on screen. When it did, Sam could see his brother looking just as pissed as he sounded.

“We saw you not even two hours ago, Dean. They gave us a tour before showing us to our room.”

“I need to know where you guys are at all times, you hear?”

“We’re in the hotel, Dean. For a whole week, too. Now, you wanna know what we’ve seen or not?”

Sipping on a beer, Dean shrugged, not looking any less annoyed.

“Not that we’ve learned much, seeing we just got here. They weren’t lying, though… nudism and swinging? Totally happening, and nobody’s shy about it.”

That was enough to make Dean’s pout start to melt. “Ah yeah? I hope they’re not all in their fifties, ‘cause that might make your stay a little less interesting.”

“I didn’t really notice,” Sam admitted, hating the thought of having to start ogling people in order to actually investigate. Castiel decided to chime in.

“People didn’t seem to be of a specific age. I saw mature men and women, as well as younger ones. The only thing they seemed to have in common was the fact that they had no clothes on.”

Before he could respond, Sam saw his brother’s eyes bug out of his skull.

“Dean?”

“Hmm… dude, your husband’s getting naked,” Dean said, looking a bit flustered. Sam turned around to see the angel shimmying out of his boxers.

“Cas! I know we can walk around naked, but we don’t have to.” He tried to laugh it off, but even he knew it sounded a bit forced. “Especially not when we’re in the room where nobody else can see us. Would you mind putting something on?”

Castiel sighed, his brows scrunched together. “Taking off these constricting clothes was the best thing so far,” he said, choosing to cover himself with one of the hotel’s complimentary bathrobes, not that he bothered closing it.

“I actually meant that you should put your underwear back on. I don’t need to see your junk flopping around,” Sam said in a chastising tone with Dean chuckling in the background.

This time, Castiel huffed and rolled his eyes as he dropped the bathrobe to do as requested. He started rummaging through a drawer, making sure to make his thoughts on the matter known. “Humans are very peculiar when it comes to their bodies. Unless you need some kind of protection from the elements, I don’t see why you’d rather be wearing clothes. Animals don’t, and angels certainly don’t either.”

Just like his brother before him, Sam felt the heat creep up in his cheeks, suddenly aware he’d be subjected to Cas’s nether regions a whole lot during their stay. And they’d probably have to get somewhat close and personal, too. As if he’d been reading his mind, Dean’s voice could soon be heard, taunting.

“Didn’t think about that, did ya? Hope you’re okay canoodling with the naked angel, Sammy, ‘cause that’s what you’re gonna be doing. For a whole week, too.”

Before ending the call, Sam made sure to scowl at his brother who scowled right back at him. He closed the lid and took a deep breath before turning around again. Castiel was sitting on the bed, now wearing a pair of fitted underwear rather than Jimmy’s oversized boxers, and flipping through the hotel’s binder.

The subject of nudity didn’t come up again before it was time to head downstairs for dinner.

“Cas, seriously… I think we should keep some clothes on to go eat,” he said when Castiel took off his underwear again.

“Billy said we can be naked anywhere but the gym.”

“Yeah, we can, but… I’d rather not.”

Castiel took a moment to think before answering. “You can do what you want, but I will have dinner in the nude. If we want to find out what happened to those people, I believe we should try to blend in as much as possible.”

And of course, Sam knew Castiel to be right. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before starting to undress. As he dipped his thumb beneath the elastic of his boxer shorts, he opened his eyes to see the angel looking right at him.

“Could you maybe not look at me while I do this?”

Castiel rolled his eyes and turned around. “Humans…”

To Sam’s own surprise, walking around naked didn’t bother him for very long. Yes, leaving the room and taking the elevator – among other naked folks – was one of the most uncomfortable things he’d ever done. He’d made sure to keep his eyes on the luminous numbers as they went down to the third floor, fighting against the urge to hide his junk behind his hands.

Only after a second round of getting food at the buffet did Sam start to feel somewhat at ease. Like him, most people would keep their eyes upward rather than leering at one another. Plus, being able to put a napkin on his lap while they ate helped a whole lot.

Sam’s illusion of comfort shattered when Castiel begged him to go have a drink at the nightclub after hearing other guests talk about it.

“We really need to start socializing if we want to find out who or what is killing the guests,” Castiel said before grabbing Sam’s hand to pull him toward the club, using the key card dangling from his neck to get in.

It was a bit early so there weren’t many people in the club. Still, Castiel decided they should go and take place close to another couple getting busy on a sofa. With a concentrated frown, he pushed Sam to sit and went to straddle him.

“Hey!” Sam said in a hiss, grabbing the angel’s hips to stop him. He gently manhandled Cas to sit next to him rather than on him. “Remember, we’re not supposed to be super comfortable. We’re newbies,” he said in Castiel’s ear, making sure nobody else could hear him.

As he answered, Castiel took Sam in his arms, his hands flat on the hunter’s back. “You know we’ll have to be somewhat affectionate eventually, right?”

“I know,” Sam answered, trying to ignore how Castiel’s cut dick – his impressive cut dick – pressed against his thigh. _At least, he’s not hard_ , he thought, counting his blessings. “Let’s just… take our time, okay?”

With a nod, Castiel let him go to sit forward, his head against Sam’s shoulder and resting a hand on Sam’s thigh. _Right where his dick was a second ago._

They sat like this for over an hour, looking around as more guests came in and took place on the sofas or beds, while some chose to dance. Clearly, the club was where things really heated up.

Castiel sensed Sam’s discomfort, slipping his hand into his friend’s. “Would you rather we go back to the room?” Castiel asked, his breath hot on his ear.

If he were to be honest, Sam actually wanted to leave the hotel. He regretted ever insisting to come; Dean should have been the one to do this. It was too late now, so he took a deep breath and shook his head, pulling the angel closer to his side.

The couple that was on the sofa next to theirs had left a long time ago, only to be replaced by another one. They were enthusiastically making out. “At least, these two have their clothes on,” Sam said in Castiel’s ear right when said clothes started coming off. Sam turned to face his friend, making sure to keep his eyes averted while Castiel looked right at them.

“Maybe you shouldn’t stare so much, Cas,” he said, getting nervous.

“I believe it is expected that we look, Sam. If they didn’t want people to watch, they wouldn’t be here, exposing themselves.” He smiled. “Plus, I’ve been witnessing humans copulating for millennia. It’s nothing I’ve never seen.”

Sam didn’t have time to answer that he felt a hand gliding down his spine. He looked over his shoulder to see that the hand belonged to the once-clothed girl. Before he could protest, her partner’s hand landed on his knee.

“You boys seem to be waiting for someone to sweep you off your feet,” the man said, his hand climbing higher on Sam’s thigh. “You’re very handsome,” he added, his eyes never leaving Sam while the woman’s hand travelled to the front, slowly dipping below his navel.

“Huh…”

Sitting closer to Sam, Castiel smiled at the couple as he wrapped possessive arms around his friend’s neck. “I’m sorry… it’s our first time here and we promised each other we wouldn’t engage in sexual activities with other men.” He carded a hand in Sam’s hair, making sure the hunter would be looking at him in the eye. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about that?”

Clearing his throat didn’t help Sam, words still wouldn’t come. He kept his gaze on Castiel’s and shook his head. The strange hands on him immediately disappeared. “Let us know if you ever change your mind,” the man whispered in his ear before going back to his own sofa. When Castiel didn’t move away, Sam tried to evade his arms.

“People seem to be getting interested in us,” Castiel said as he pulled the hunter closer. “And our refusal to mingle isn’t going unnoticed. I think we should do something.”

“You were right before… I’d like to go back to the room.”

When Castiel spoke again, his lips were against Sam’s skin, just below his ear. “We should stay a little while longer, just so people don’t get suspicious. Unless you’re much too uncomfortable.”

“If we stay, we’ll be expected to do stuff, to each other, if not with anyone else.” Sam looked down at his crotch, blushing. “And we’re probably expected to… enjoy it.”

Without a word, Castiel got out of Sam’s hold. He took his hand to pull him up, snaking his other hand on the back of his neck. “Let’s go back to the room, then,” the angel said before pulling the hunter down for a kiss, bringing the hand he held to rest in the small of his back.

Although surprised by the angel’s bravado, Sam quickly got with the program, bringing his free hand to the side of Castiel’s face. They kept kissing, blindly walking out of the club to reach the elevators. Only when the doors slid shut did they separate, panting.

They rode the elevator in embarrassed silence, making sure not to look at each other. As they entered their room, they could hear Sam’s phone ringing.

“Where the hell have you been?” Dean asked after Sam had run to answer it. “I’ve been trying to call you and Cas for hours now.”

“What’s wrong?”

“What? Nothing’s wrong… what’s wrong with you?”

With a huff, Sam put the phone on speaker so he could put some clothes on. “You’re the one who called, Dean. Did you find something?”

“No… did you? What have you been doing?”

“Went to dinner, then spent some time at the club.”

“Did you meet anyone special?”

Castiel chuckled, putting on his robe as he took the lead on the conversation. “Sam was propositioned by a nice looking couple. We had to decline.”

“Why? Threesomes are awesome!”

“Part of our backstory is that neither of us would want to engage with other men. So we had to engage in each other instead, not to arise any suspicion.”

Sam could have sworn he heard his brother choke or something.

“What do you mean, engaged in each other?”

“We started “making out” and then came back to the room to “have sex”.”

Dean paused even longer than he did before. “Sammy? Did Cas just make air quotes? I swear I could hear the air quotes.”

“Yeah, he did.”

They soon hung up, nobody having much more to say. It wasn’t that late, yet Sam decided he wanted to take advantage of the luxury surrounding them. He didn’t say it, but the impromptu making out session with Cas had freaked him out more than he thought it would. Not that the angel macking on him had caused some deep seeded desire to surface. Actually, if it revealed anything, it was that he had no interest of ever pursuing men altogether.

 _That’s a lie_ , he scolded himself, remembering some really nice things that happened in college. His heart sped at the memories… okay, maybe he just wasn’t into Cas. And the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Castiel was like another brother to him and getting it on with him felt all kinds of wrong. Which meant the next couple of days would be difficult to handle. They’d have to get it on with other people if they didn’t want to look weird to not be all over each other.

“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable, Sam. I thought it’d be a good idea.”

“No need to be sorry, Cas. It was a good idea, and I knew what I signed up for.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you’d rather we not be too intimate. I intend on respecting that.”

“I’m sorry, Cas… maybe I’m just tired. I’ll be better tomorrow, I swear.”

“Don’t worry about it. Maybe Dean was right to think it was a bad idea for us to be doing this thing together.”

Without warning, the angel took his bathrobe off again, dropping it onto the armchair. Thinking Cas was about to join him in bed, Sam opened his mouth to voice his concern. He didn’t have time to speak.

“I’m going back out,” Castiel said, walking toward the door.

“To the club?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. I’ll walk around, see what else is there. I just might go sit by the pool to look at the stars while you get some rest. Goodnight, Sam.”

“Goodnight… oh, and Cas? If you come back and decide to join me in bed, I don’t mind—just—just put some clothes on, yeah?”

As sole answer, Castiel nodded and smiled before exiting the room. Only then could Sam start breathing freely.


	3. THURSDAY

Walking out on the roof in his birthday suit that morning didn’t bug Sam all that much. Maybe because the people he crossed path with were the same ones from the night before. He’d seen their bodies and they’d seen his, which blanketed him in something akin to comfort.

He went to join Castiel, busy chatting with someone he had yet to meet. “Hey, Cas,” he said, sitting next to him on the lounge chair. The angel turned to him and smiled before leaning in to peck the corner of his mouth.

“Hello, my love,” he said, giving him a discreet wink. Sam almost rolled his eyes, promising himself to explain as soon as possible that he knew this was all fake; Cas didn’t have to wink or cross his fingers to make sure he remembered.

“Missed you this morning, honey.”

“I did like Billy said we should and watched the sun rise over the ocean. Wish you’d been with me,” Castiel explained before kissing his friend again, this time square on the mouth, only for a second.

“Sam, this is Darla Barrett,” the angel said, motioning to the brunette he’d been talking to. The woman lifted her deep brown eyes at him and smiled, her dark lashes fluttering.

“Your husband is indeed quite beautiful, Castiel,” she said, appreciative. Sam swallowed, Darla’s fiery gaze making his skin tingle; not only was she gorgeous, but Sam could almost feel the air vibrating around her. “Thanks,” he said in a stammer, trying to catch Castiel’s eye.

The angel had his own gaze on the woman, his smile a little too wide. Sam swallowed again and grabbed Castiel’s hand. “I came to get you so we could have breakfast together,” he said, giving Darla some kind of apologetic gaze.

“I could eat some,” Castiel replied before taking Darla’s hand in his to kiss it. “We’ll see you later, Darla. We can talk more about that thing you suggested.”

Sam couldn’t have left the rooftop any quicker without garnering unwanted attention. Once in the elevator, he gave Castiel the evil eye.

“What’s wrong?”

“Dude! That girl you were talking to… don’t you think she’s weird at all?”

“Darla? I didn’t sense anything peculiar about her, no. Unless you are referring to her being extremely beautiful.”

“Yeah! Don’t you think that’s… well… weird?”

“Why would that be weird? Many people are very pleasant to look at, she wouldn’t be the first.”

“I don’t know… she rubbed me the wrong way.”

Castiel tilted his head, considering his friend with obvious concern. “She never put a hand on you, Sam. I don’t see how—”

“It’s a figure of speech, Cas. Means I didn’t like her all that much.”

They didn’t say another word as they rode the elevator down to the third floor. The dining room was much busier than the night before and there were only free tables in the middle of the room. It almost made Sam change his mind about eating in public.

Castiel didn’t seem to care as he led the way to a table for two, pulling a chair for Sam to sit on. “My love,” he said when Sam came closer, once more winking at him.

“Cas, you don’t need to wink every time. I know it’s an act,” he said close to his friend’s ear before sitting down. All that answered him was a low chuckle.

“Would you like me to prepare a plate for you?” Castiel asked, his naked crotch pretty much in Sam’s face now. He gave him a dismissive wave of the hand, impatient to see him go. “Something healthy because I know you don’t like greasy foods,” the angel added as he turned around to leave, exposing his ass to the hunter who let out a dispirited groan.

“I’d be growlin’ too if I shared a bed with that gorgeous boy,” Sam heard from behind him. He turned to see a woman he hadn’t met yet either. He repressed a smile when he thought of what would have been his brother’s reaction to the couple; both the woman and the man looked well in their sixties, if not already in their seventies.

“I’m Charlotte, and this is my husband Grant. First timers?” she asked, unabashed as she let her gaze roam all over Sam’s body. She gave his crotch an insistent glare, as if trying to will the napkin away.

“Indeed… I take that you’re not?” he answered, hoping she’d look him in the eye instead. She did, while her husband took over in ogling him.

“Been coming here for years now. Only wish we could have had such a place to frequent when we were younger, prettier… and hornier.” She giggled, taking her husband’s hand in hers. “Now, all we really wanna do is watch, you know?” She gave Sam a broad smile, her eyes going back to his hidden groin. “I’ll say… I can’t wait to see the extent of you.”

Knowing his whole upper body was probably red at this point, Sam could only laugh and nod, unable the find the will to be surprised about the things he heard or saw anymore. “You most certainly will at some point,” he said, making her giggle again.

He turned right when plates were being placed on the table. He looked down to see what Castiel seemed to consider a healthy breakfast. Even to Sam, the plate looked boring as hell.

“Thanks, honey,” he said, considering the two hard-boiled eggs, the small heap of fruit salad, and the very dry looking muffin. He’d need twice as much food to even begin feeling satiated. Still, he smiled before shoving one of the eggs in his mouth.

“So, I talked to Dean earlier,” he said in a low voice after almost swallowing the egg whole. “He was kinda pissed that you didn’t spend the night in our room.”

“Why?”

“He seems to think that you hooked up or something.” Sam looked up and waggled his brows. “Did you?”

“No, Sam. I didn’t “hook up”,” the angel said, curling his fingers around the words. “Should I have?”

“You don’t have to, but technically, it’d be okay if you did. We’re kind of expected to, I guess.” His voice was nothing more than a murmur at this point. “Better that than… you know… us.”

Castiel looked around, making sure nobody was paying attention to them. There was that couple from the night before looking at Sam, but they were too far to hear anything.

“I thought we had decided to be uncertain about our socializing. Did you change your mind?”

“No. I just thought you might want to—to—to participate after all. You seem to like Darla enough.”

“We do get along, yes. She’s here for a single purpose, and it’s to have sex with multiple partners at once. She’s mostly looking for couples since she’s alone here. This is not something her husband likes to partake in.”

“She’s married?”

“That’s what she told me. She comes here twice a year so she can fulfill this particular fantasy… which reminds me: She would love to have sex with us.”

Choking on a piece of honeydew melon, Sam had to down an entire glass of water before being able to speak again. “I hope you said no.”

“I told her I’d talk to you about it.”

“Cas, I really don’t think—”

The hunter interrupted himself when he saw the angel wink again. Apparently, he had started to forget this whole thing was just for show. He shook his head, chuckling. “Okay, you got me. But, yeah… that’s not happening. Ever!”

After breakfast, the men went back to the roof. Sam would have liked to go for a run, or at least take advantage of the gym downstairs. Instead, he decided to swim laps in the pool, which didn’t turn out to be such a good idea after all. Most people in the pool were there to grope and hump each other, not to exercise. He’d probably have to get there at dawn to be able to swim properly.

He came back to sit close to Castiel, this time on his own lounge chair. Frustrated by the lack of physical activity, he huffed and lied down on his front, choosing not to have his junk exposed while he took a nap. He was about to doze off when he felt something cold trickle on his back with warm hands following the next second.

“What—Cas?” he sputtered, looking over his shoulder to see the angel towering over him, his hands covered in lotion. “What are you doing?” he said in a softer tone, glancing around to make sure nobody saw him be all jumpy.

“The sun can do great damage to your skin, Sam. You need protection.”

Shaking his head, Sam let out a nervous chuckle. Castiel was supposed to be his husband, and he had a point; he needed sunscreen if he was to stay out here for hours. “All right,” he mumbled, laying back down and closing his eyes.

 _It’s like a massage, you’ve gotten those before_ , Sam told himself as Castiel rubbed sunscreen all over him. Not until did Cas’s hands get on his ass did he really start feeling uncomfortable. The angel didn’t seem to notice.

“On your back,” Castiel then said. As he obeyed, Sam wanted to argue that he could take care of the front, but Castiel’s hands fell back on him before he could say a single word. Hoping it’d be done quickly, he let him work until the angel’s hands got a little too close to—

“Dude, you’re not putting lotion on—on my—you know,” he said in a low hiss as he sat up.

“Sam… the skin on your genitals is delicate, you don’t want a sunburn there,” Castiel countered, his head slightly tilted. He really did look concerned. Again.

“I know, but I’d rather do this myself, if you don’t mind.”

“All right,” Castiel said in a sigh, going back to lie on his own chair. “I meant nothing by it, you know,” he explained softly, making Sam’s heart drop. He was starting to feel like an idiot, looking anywhere but at his friend while he finished lathering his body with the lotion.

“I know you didn’t, but—” Sam made sure nobody was paying attention to them before explaining himself in a hush. “When it comes to… you know… private parts… friends don’t usually touch each other there.”

“I understand, Sam. Except we’re supposed to be romantic partners. Married. Which means I would have touched your private parts already. And quite often, I’m sure.”

“Let’s just put this on the account that Sam Tyler’s not comfortable having his junk fumbled with in public, all right?”

“Then what is “Sam Tyler” doing here?”

Seeing one of the waitresses come and interrupt that conversation made Sam utter a breath of relief. Until she handed him a cordless phone rather than offering to bring them drinks. Even before he heard his interlocutor’s voice, Sam knew who it would be.

“Hello?”

“What the hell are you doing, man? I’ve been waiting for your call. Did you find Cas? He’s okay, right?”

“Come on, man. You know if something had happened to him, I would have told you. And what about you? Did you find something?” He sent Castiel an annoyed look, who sent him a confused one back.

“Did I find…? Well, that’s great! While you guys seem to be doing nothing useful, I’m working my ass off to try and find what could be killing folks. How hard is it to keep me updated, huh? I have nothing to work with here.”

“Dean, would you just chill? It’s not even noon yet, what in the hell do you want us to have found out since last night?”

“You guys have it too good over there… I don’t think you’re even trying. And I’m still waiting to know where Cas is. Did you even find him?”

“He’s right next to me, Dean. No need to worry, we’re doing what we came here to do.”

“And yet, you got nothing.”

“I’m gonna hang up now. It’s kinda suspicious that I’d be talking on the phone while my husband’s all eager to rub lotion all over my body.”

The shocked gasp Sam heard on the line almost made him laugh. “What the hell? Castiel’s not your slave, man. You put your own damn lotion on, you hear? Angels aren’t—”

Sam never heard the last of his brother’s rant, hanging up the phone and signaling to the waitress that he was done. She came back, this time asking if they wanted anything to drink. Since they should be on vacation, Sam decided he’d better act like it and ordered beers for the both of them.

“Did Dean find something?” Castiel asked the second the waitress had left.

“Nah… I think he’s just jealous to be stuck in that shitty motel while we get to be here.” Sam had also started suspecting his brother might be jealous of him getting to be with Cas, but he wasn’t about to tell the angel that. “He says he’s been doing research, but I doubt he’s gonna find anything. Not if we can’t give him something to work with.”

The waitress came back with their beers and a menu, explaining that if they were hungry, they could have food brought up. Sam smiled and thanked her, promising himself to bring some cash for tips next time he came up here.

“I think we should start… hmm… talking to people,” Sam told Castiel as he looked around the rooftop. He noticed some guests had started gathering on the beds. Castiel followed his gaze and quirked an eyebrow.

“Should we take a bed for ourselves before they’re all taken? They look quite comfortable.”

“We’re not going on the beds, Cas. People will expect to see us start having sex or something. Worse, they might wanna join us.”

“I see… what do you suggest we do, then?”

Sam got on his feet, pulling Castiel to follow and kissed his forehead. “Let’s just walk around and talk to people.”

With their beers in hand, Sam and Castiel started walking, aiming for an energetic cluster of people. Didn’t matter that they were all naked, they looked more interested in having a chat than groping each other.

Which, in Sam’s book, was the best thing that could have happened to him.

“You gotta have your phone with you, Sam. Always!”

“And where do you want me to put it, Dean? In my ass?”

Sam instantly regretted the words when he saw the grin on his brother’s face. “Well, if you do, make sure you lube that thing up real nice, you hear? Might hurt if you don’t.”

“Yeah, yeah… har har, real funny, jerk!”

“Hey, you’re the one who went there, bitch!”

The sight of his brother cackling almost made Sam shut the computer off. Except he actually had stuff to talk to him about.

“Are you done? Can I go over what we’ve learned?”

“Where’s Cas?”

“Taking a shower. So, we met—”

“Why a shower? Can’t he zap himself clean? How is he even dirty?”

Sam cleared his throat, glaring at his brother. “As I was saying, we met a bunch of people today. Wouldn’t say we met every single guest, but we did see a whole lot.”

“I bet you did, you giant perv.”

“Would you just shut up for a minute? I’ll have you know that most people don’t seem all that eager to have sex in broad daylight. Of course, some are, but most who lounged around the pool were very tame. Naked, and affectionate, but tame.”

“Met anyone suspicious at all?”

“Nope… well… there’s that woman from Odessa,Texas… Darla Barrett. Cas swears up and down that she’s not weird, but I really got a bad vibe from her.”

“She fugly?” Dean asked as he typed on his keyboard. “Whoah… nope… if it’s the same lady I found, she’s a babe. Damn! What you’re saying she’s weird for?”

“I think she came on too strong for Sam’s taste,” Castiel answered, coming out of the bathroom. Sam was relieved to find the angel to at least be wearing underwear.

“How about you, Cas? She didn’t weird you out?” Dean asked. “Hey, Sam! Turn the computer around a bit? I can’t see him.”

Sam complied, squinting at the sudden softness in Dean’s features when the angel came into view. “So? That girl, Darla… she’s real pretty,” Dean commented, not waiting for Cas to answer his previous question.

“She is beautiful, yes. And she knows what she wants.”

“Which is?”

“Sam and I to have sex with her.”

Dean’s sudden hilarity didn’t last long. “Like… you and her, then Sammy and her… right? Or…”

“The three of us together, actually.”

Dean nodded, now looking pensive. “And—hmm—are you guys gonna—”

“What? Dean, no!” Sam intervened, not liking where this conversation was going. He’d be down for a threesome, he wasn’t an idiot, but not with Darla and certainly not with Cas. “We’re not having sex with anyone, all right?” He turned to Castiel to see him not looking too happy. “Well… I’m not having sex with anyone. Cas can do whatever he wants.”

“I don’t think he should have sex either,” Dean said, looking back at his brother. “You guys are supposed to be married. Together. If you don’t go with other people, it’d look weird if he did. He should just stay put while you guys investigate.”

They heard Castiel harrumph. “You know I’m in the room, right?” the angel said, sounding miffed. “I don’t appreciate that you think you can dictate my actions, Dean Winchester. If I decide to be intimate to gather information, or just because I want to, then I will do so and you can’t say a thing about it. Of all people, you should not be so hung up about something so trivial as sexual intercourse.”

“Trivial?” Dean muttered after a short pause, then shook his head. “Whatever, Cas. You go and pop your cherry with the first chick that looks at you, see if I care. Sam, anyone else interesting you met?”

“Like I said before, nobody that really stood out. Regular people, mostly. I’m thinking tonight’s gonna be a bit more raunchy.”

“How do you mean?”

“Most guests hang out at the nightclub after dinner. You know, dimmed lights, mirror ball, loud music, alcohol, beds…”

“In other words, an orgy waiting to happen?”

“More or less, yeah. We went yesterday, but I think we were there too early. Not much happened.”

Castiel, who had been sitting on the bed in silence, scoffed at the younger Winchester’s words.

“What now?” Sam said, looking at the angel over his shoulder.

“I didn’t think you’d wanna go back, Sam. You know what’s expected of us there, right?”

“I know…”

“Will you want us to flee again? Because if you do, we might as well stay here to avoid the spectacle.”

“Can we talk about this later?”

Castiel rolled his eyes and raised his hands in a placating motion before grabbing the TV remote. Sam too rolled his eyes as he turned back toward the computer screen.

“Trouble in paradise, Sammy?”

“Shut up… wanna hear about the guests or not?”

“Gimme whatever names you got, I’ll see what I can find.”

The brothers talked shop for close to an hour while Castiel watched some nature show on mute. Sam went to take a shower after hanging up, coming back out a little after six with his belly rumbling.

“Ready for dinner?” Sam asked the angel, who shrugged.

“Not really hungry, but then again, I never am.” He got off the bed to come and stand closer to Sam, tilting his head up to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry for earlier, Sam. I’m starting to find this investigation very frustrating.”

“I know what you mean.”

“I doubt that you do,” the angel countered in a huff. “I’m the “inexperienced” one here, yet you are the one letting yourself be bothered by all these useless social constructs. You really should have let Dean do this with me, Sam.”

“Why? Because he would have let you grope him more than I do?”

“I don’t believe he would have minded, no. He knows we have a job to do.”

Sam threw his head back in laughter. “Cas… I think you’re right to say he would have let you be all over him, but I don’t think it has a thing to do with the investigation.”

Again with the squinty eyes.

“What I mean is… I think Dean might—no, you know what? I’m not going there, not my place.”

“To dinner or the club?”

“No, that’s not…” Sam pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Forget about it, you’re right, Dean would have been more in his element than I am. Still, I’m the one that’s here and I’ll do my best to stop squirming when you or anyone else tries to get close. Deal?”

“Deal! And if it all becomes too much for you to handle, I won’t give you a hard time if you’d rather come back to the room.”

“Okay… thanks, Cas.”

If dinner went well, going back to the club to have a couple of drinks made Sam all kinds of skittish, whatever he had promised before. Especially when Darla came to sit between him and Castiel – not that there was much space between them. At that moment, Sam was ready to just run out and lock himself in his room, never coming back out. He didn’t, instead enduring the woman sitting on both his and Castiel’s laps.

After prodding at Castiel’s mouth with her tongue for about five minutes, she let him go to try and do the same to Sam who grabbed her shoulders and leaned back.

“What’s wrong, baby?” she said, twirling a lock of his hair with her finger. “Don’t you like girls at all?”

It didn’t matter that Darla irked him, Sam couldn’t bring himself to be mean to her. As he considered what excuse to give the woman, her dark hair and eyes prompted a memory he could serve her as a reason for his refusal: Ruby.

“Sorry, Darla… it’s just… you remind me too much of an ex… an evil bitch that did quite the number on me.”

“Oh, poor baby. I totally get it,” she said in a pout before getting off of them. Rather than leaving like Sam had hoped, she went to sit on Castiel’s other side. “You won’t mind if I keep kissing your man, right? Just until Peter and Josie come down…”

Sam shrugged when Castiel sent him a questioning look. As if he’d say he didn’t want him kissing that girl. If he did that, it meant he would have to be the one making out with him. Relieved the angel got busy with someone else, Sam let his gaze roam around the room.

Once more, he noticed the couple from the previous night making out while sending him feverish looks. He’d seen them at the pool earlier, spending their day on one of the beds, wrapped around each other. Sometimes they were alone, other times people would join in. They seemed to know pretty much everyone, which was why Sam decided to take the plunge and do some ground work.

Without a word to Cas – he was busy with Darla anyway – Sam walked over to the couple.

“Hi, I’m Sam,” he said, his hand extended. The couple stopped kissing, the guy grabbing Sam’s hand to pull him down between them rather than shaking it.

“Maureen,” the girl said before starting to nibble on Sam’s ear. The hunter almost jumped when the guy dipped down to lick and nip at one of his nipples. “And that’s Mark,” the girl added, guiding her boyfriend’s head upward. Sam’s gaze caught onto the guy’s whose pupils were so dilated it made his breath hitch.

The next second, Maureen was pushing their heads together, making sure their mouths would collide.

“Now kiss for me!”


	4. FRIDAY

“You gotta keep an eye on him, Sam. This place is full of perverts.”

Dean knew he was being overly dramatic, but he couldn’t help himself. The annoyed look on his brother’s face made his fists itch with the need to pummel something. He looked around his crappy motel room and pursed his lips; getting an infection from scraping his knuckles on any of the less than sanitary surfaces wouldn’t be worth it.

“Really, Dean? Perverts? I’d say the people here are more like your kindred spirits, don’t you think?”

“I’m not the one with my paws all over a real-life angel, Sam. If anything, you have more in common with them than I ever will.”

The crooked smile that appeared on Sam’s face did nothing to ease Dean’s nerves.

“I’ll say, Dean… we’ve been here for a couple of days now and Cas really looks like he belongs. He’s made a bunch of friends already. One in particular…” Sam’s smile turned into a grin. “That Darla chick? She’s really into him. Whenever she’s not trying to score herself a threesome, she’s all over Cas.”

“And you let him? He’s supposed to be your husband, Sam.”

“Swingers, Dean… we’re supposed to be swingers so yeah, I let him do this. Better him than me, if you wanna know the truth.”

Dean shook his head, dismayed. “Can’t believe what I’m hearing. You won’t even put out so the angel doesn’t have to?” He pointed a menacing finger at the screen. “You’re fucking selfish, Sam Winchester, that’s what you are.”

Sam ending the conversation without another word didn’t come as a surprise for Dean. He let out a swarm of expletives, stopping himself from slamming his fist onto the laptop’s keyboard. He took a deep breath before electing to call his brother back. Since Sam had logged out of Skype, Dean grabbed his phone. He needed Sam to understand that Cas couldn’t sleep around like that. That it wasn’t proper.

Not for an angel, anyway.

He got sent to voicemail, hung up, then tried again. Sam was bound to answer if Dean were to be annoying enough.

As he put on his swimsuit – he didn’t feel like having his junk flapping to the wind – Sam declined his brother’s call… five times! It didn’t matter that he had promised he’d keep his phone with him, Sam put the device on vibrate and shoved it in the nightstand.

Not an idiot, it hadn’t taken Sam too long to understand what his brother’s problem consisted of. He’d always believed, even before Cas came into their lives, that Dean was a little bit closeted.

Not that he thought Dean was all the way gay – his love of the ladies could never be questioned – but he did seem to be overcompensating more often than not. No… for the longest time, Sam has suspected his brother held an interest in the male form as well. And, as far as he knew, Dean had never tried acting on it, certainly not while their father was alive.

Sam scoffed and shook his head, finding the idea of his brother refusing to acknowledge any part of himself heartbreaking. Just not heartbreaking enough to not want to mess with him as soon as he’d have the chance. _For Dean’s own good_ , he almost said out loud as he left the room to join Castiel on the roof.

As expected, Sam found him lounging near the pool, surrounded by no less than five people. They were all naked and glistening with sunscreen, talking and laughing without a care in the world. When he saw him, Castiel sat up and patted the space between his legs.

“Bathing suit?” the angel said as he circled his arms around Sam’s midsection, making the hunter chuckle.

“I find swimming laps more comfortable with a bathing suit on.” _And I’m real glad there’s a barrier between your junk and my ass crack_ , he added to himself.

“Humans…” Castiel said low against Sam’s ear, reminding him that he could probably hear whatever he didn’t voice.

Still, neither of them moved as the conversation kept going around them. At some point, Sam felt Castiel move back a bit and familiar smacking noises could soon be heard. He looked behind him to see Darla’s tongue disappear inside the angel’s mouth.

Suddenly feeling the need to be elsewhere, Sam unhooked Castiel’s arms and started moving away from him. Giving the woman a soft push to the side, Castiel looked at his friend. “You’re going already? You just got here.”

Before Sam could answer, Darla leaned in to start kissing him. He let her, mostly because he didn’t want to make a scene, but also because it kind of felt nice and comfortable. For a couple of seconds, Sam forgot how that woman usually made his skin crawl, her smell and taste making his head spin.

She soon let his mouth go and leaned back, only to push his and Castiel’s faces together. Sam found himself with a mouthful of angel, the thought of resisting never entering his mind. They kissed for what felt like a long time, their hands tangled in each other’s hair and chests pressed together.

“I think I’d like to take this to the bedroom, honey,” Castiel said against Sam’s mouth before taking the hunter’s lower lip between his teeth.

Being able to breathe normally again helped Sam’s upper brain to come back online. Nervous, he leaned back, his eyes locking onto the angel’s; there was no desire in the blue gaze, no feverish passion… only worry. Knowing words wouldn’t make it out, Sam nodded and let the angel get up and pull him to his feet.

As he was led toward the elevators, Sam felt a soft hand wrap around his. He turned to see Darla following them, an expectant look on her face.

“Wait for me, boys,” she said, pulling herself forward. She let his hand go to hang onto his arm as they kept walking. While Sam couldn’t find the words to make her go away, Castiel stopped walking and came to unhook Darla from Sam’s arm.

“I’m sorry, Darla, but I think I’d like some alone time with my husband,” he said, softening the blow of their rejection by kissing her some more. “Maybe later, if I can convince him,” he added, letting her go to pull Sam forward again.

“Sorry you didn’t get to swim,” Castiel said when the elevator doors closed on them, sending a pointed look at Sam’s snug bathing suit. “We could go to the gym so you could exercise, but we’re supposed to be on our way to have sex now.”

Saw swallowed with a click, half worried Castiel could have been serious. It had gotten quite hot and heavy back there. The angel winked at him.

“We’ll just go back to the room for a little while,” Castiel said, taking Sam in his arms again when the elevator dinged and the doors opened. A very cuddly foursome got in, pushing Sam and Castiel against the back wall.

“Excuse us,” Sam said as he and Cas plowed through the group to get out on the next floor. Only once back in their room did Sam explode.

“What the hell was this?” he said, throwing his arms in the air. He paced around the room, a hand in his hair and the other one gesturing blindly. “I don’t know what that Darla chick is, but she’s doing this. She’s the thing we’re hunting,” he said, stopping in front of Castiel to try and stare him down.

The angel looked back at him, more perplexed than impressed. “No, she’s not. She’s human, just like you and everyone else we’ve met so far.”

“Doesn’t mean she’s not doing something witchy. ‘Cause, I swear, it didn’t feel like myself just now. I let her kiss me, and then you, and I never even tried to stop. Didn’t even cross my mind.” He brushed a hand over his face. “She usually gives me the hibbie jibbies, Cas. She did something to us, I’m sure of it. Might explain why you like her so much.”

“I’m an angel, Sam. I hardly think she could have “done something” to me. She’s a very good kisser, I think you just forgot to guard yourself for a minute.”

“And what about you?”

Castiel stopped rummaging in the drawer to look at Sam over his shoulder. “What about me? I’ve always found Darla nice and attractive, you know that.”

“Not what I mean, Cas. What about me being all… you know… I didn’t mind kissing you just now. Like… at all.”

After pushing the drawer close, Castiel turned around and smiled. “It’s just kissing, Sam… I wouldn’t worry about it. Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

His mouth slightly agape, Sam shook his head.

“I’ll be taking a very long bath,” Castiel said as he walked into the bathroom. “May even fall asleep in there.”

“Hmm… please don’t,” Sam had a mind to say before the door closed. He took a deep breath and looked around the room, still a bit unnerved by what happened at the pool. He took the laptop and brought it to the bed, stopping himself from logging on to Skype. Instead, he fished his phone from the nightstand; he had six missed calls and twice as many texts, all from Dean.

Sam chuckled as he pushed the laptop away to get off the bed; he just had the best of ideas. He dropped to the floor to start doing push-ups. He didn’t keep count of how many he did, only doing enough to feel pumped and start sweating.

He ruffled the freshly made bed, crumpling the covers and pillows before getting under the sheets. With his bathing suit slung low and his hair all messed up, Sam made sure the webcam caught enough of him sweaty and seemingly naked in the unmade bed. Time to call his brother.

Dean answered immediately, frowning at what appeared on the screen.

“What’s with you?”

When Sam spoke, it was in a loud whisper, his eyes going back and forth between the screen and somewhere beyond it. “Just thought I’d give you an update, while Cas is cleaning up. We—hmm—it was crazy, man. I don’t think I’ll be the same after I leave here.”

Sam could hardly keep himself together when he saw the alarmed expression on his brother’s face.

“What the hell are you talking about? Are you guys okay?

Letting out a deep sigh, Sam tried to look as blissed out as possible. “More than okay. This place is awesome. We met the most gorgeous girl… so sexy, you wouldn’t believe… blond, tall, the most luscious of mouths.” He sighed again. “She just left.”

“Good for you, Sammy,” Dean said, obviously relieved. Until he looked concerned again. “Wait… didn’t you say Cas was cleaning up? You guys porked with Cas in the room?”

Sam shook his head. “I don’t think you understand, Dean. We met a girl… Cas and me.”

The shock on Dean’s face was almost enough for Sam to start cackling, but he managed to keep it in. Then Dean was mad again.

“I can’t believe you, Sam Winchester! Castiel is an angel of the Lord, he has no business in a threesome. And especially not with you! That’s all kinds of wrong, man! He’s like our brother!

“Says the guy who wanted him to lose his virginity to a prostitute.”

“Entirely different circumstances… we thought he was gonna die. And the girl? Not our fucking sister! I think you guys should leave this place, you’re clearly under some kind of spell crap thing.”

“No, we’re not. And we still have a monster to find, remember? It’s killing people.”

“We’ll find another way. One that doesn’t involve Cas getting mauled by my horny sibling. I swear, Sam, if you’re not outta there bef—”

About to lose it for real this time, Sam slammed the computer lid down before erupting in laughter. He knew the joke was kind of cruel, but he couldn’t help finding it just as hilarious. When he felt his phone start buzzing against his leg, it prompted another laughing fit.

Five minutes later, a naked Castiel came out of the bathroom, dripping wet and looking all out of sorts.

“Sam? What did you tell Dean? He says we must leave immediately,” he said, making Sam start laughing again.

“I don’t know what your motivations were, Sam, but this was a stupid idea.”

Sam shrugged, not about to regret messing with his brother. It didn’t matter that he called Dean back and told him the truth, Sam still believed his overall reaction had been more than worth it. And he’d do it all over again without an ounce of guilt.

“No special motivations,” Sam said as they made their way to the gym. “I just felt like messing with him.” He dipped down to speak closer to Castiel’s ear. “That hunt’s kinda boring so far, I just wanted to have a little fun.”

The doors slid open on the fourth floor. “If you made more of an effort to mingle, you probably wouldn’t find it so boring,” Castiel responded, not even worried about whoever could hear him. “I can’t be doing all the work.”

Not waiting for an answer, the angel went to the right, bent on spending some time at the sauna. Sam had been able to deal himself a solid thirty minutes of jogging, promising he’d join him afterward.

It didn’t take two minutes on the treadmill for Sam to start feeling better, focused. As he ran, he let his gaze wander over the other people using the different machines. Some faces he’s seen before, some he hadn’t. At first glance, they all looked normal enough… human. Like everyone else in this stupid place.

 _If the guests are human, then it has to be an employee_ , he surmised, trying to think of the ones they’d encountered so far. Except, unlike Cas, he couldn’t know just by looking at them. Which meant he’d have to bring up his suspicions to the angel.

 _Then again, if he had noticed an employee not being human, he would have told me_ , he concluded, shaking his head to try and focus on his running instead. He looked down at the timer on the control panel, disheartened to find he only had ten minutes left to go.

He gave it all he had, needing to catch his breath and let his heart decelerate after his session. He went to take a shower, wincing as he put back his sweaty gym shorts before making his way to the sauna. It didn’t matter that he might be dubbed a prude, he wouldn’t be going in there buck naked.

His eyes bugged out when opened the door. Rather than finding his friend, he was confronted to a couple in the midst of—he didn’t wait to analyze what they were doing and turned back around. Since brain bleach had yet to be invented, he’d probably need a lot of booze to forget that hairy backside and the strong legs wrapped around it.

“Sam!”

Shivers ran down the hunter’s spine and he stopped before closing the door. He didn’t dare look when he responded.

“Cas?”

“I was waiting for you. I’d like you to meet my new friend, Bernard.”

Taking a deep breath, Sam turned around to find Castiel and the big hairy man sitting side by side, not even touching anymore. Bernard smiled, patting the wooden bench between them. Giving him a curt nod, Sam chose to sit on Castiel’s other side instead.

“I thought we’d decided not to go for guys,” he hissed in Castiel’s ear. Not that he really cared what Cas did; it just had been an excuse for him to decline any – most – masculine offer that might come his way. He did make out a bit with Mark the day before, but that was all they did. Once.

“I’m sorry, Sam. Bernard and I just started talking and, you know, things led to another…”

“Saunas always get me real horny,” Bernard chimed in, unabashedly pawing at his aroused crotch.

Sam must have looked more upset than intended because the guy stopped fumbling himself and got up to leave. “Nice to meet you, Castiel,” he said. “If it’s okay with your hubby, I’ll see you later?” he asked as he left, prompting the angel to nod and smile.

“You could have been a little more friendly, Sam,” Castiel said the second they were alone. “Bernard has a lot to say about this place. I was learning a lot.”

“Yeah… looks like you were,” Sam responded, unsure why seeing the man all over his friend irked him so much. “Kissing’s one thing, but—let—letting this guy fuck you? Really, Cas?”

Sitting straighter, Castiel frowned at Sam. “You know we were just kissing, right? Making out?”

“Looked like a lot more from where I stood.”

Castiel nodded, looking down at himself and his own deflating member. “Our penises did touch, I’ll admit to that. I’d say it’s kind of expected when naked men hug the way we did. And we did move in a way that made them rub together.” He looked up again, meeting Sam’s scandalized gaze. “But there was no “fucking”, not in the way you mean it.”

For the first time, Sam started to think his brother might have been right in saying Castiel shouldn’t have been doing this. Clearly, people knew he was easy to be taken advantage of.

“Samuel Winchester! May I remind you that I’m older than the Earth? I don’t appreciate you belittling me this way. I demand that you stop this instant.”

Castiel’s thunderous outburst made Sam gulp.

“Now, I’ve learned interesting things. You think you’ll be able to get over this and listen to me?”

“I—huh—yeah… sorry, Cas.”

Just like that, Castiel’s demeanor did a one eighty. He leaned against the wooden wall and closed his eyes, exhaling contentedly. “I love that this is not just a sauna, but aromatherapy as well. It’s very relaxing.”

Still tensed from Cas going all stormy on him, Sam could only nod and hum. He too leaned back, not as relaxed as he should, and waited for Castiel to share what he’d learned.

“Of course, I’m going to wait until we’re upstairs before I tell you anything, with Dean on the computer. No need to repeat ourselves, is there? In the meantime, just try and relax, Sam. Big night tonight.”

Sam may have liked messing with his big brother, he didn’t want to hurt him. Which was why he never would have told him about what he saw in the sauna. Except Castiel seemingly didn’t think much of it as it was the first thing he shared with the hunter.

Fifteen minutes later, he was still getting chewed up by an overreacting Dean.

Contrary to Sam, Castiel didn’t seem all that impressed by Dean’s neverending sermon. He just stood there in all his naked glory while Dean yelled at him, looking at his motel’s atrocious wallpaper rather than the angel’s exposed crotch.

“Are you done?” Castiel said when the red-faced hunter paused to chug on his fifth of Jack. “Can I speak now?”

Still averting his eyes, Dean harrumphed and waved a hand at the screen. “Whatever… can you just sit so I don’t have to look at your stupid junk?”

With a nod, Castiel obliged, making sure nothing below his navel showed on screen. “As I explained to your brother, me getting close to Bernard was a means to an end. He’s a regular, comes here often with his wife so they can each satisfy their homosexual urges. I took advantage of that fact and got close to him. I learned things.”

Dean glanced at the screen when Castiel paused, giving him a pointed look so he’d continue.

“He was here when the Gasteyers were. It was their first time, yet they’d made quite an impression.”

“How do you mean? They slept around a lot?” Sam asked.

“Exactly the contrary,” Castiel explained, his gaze travelling between both Winchesters. “They were immensely wrapped up in each other. Bernard said the heat was palpable between them.”

“Huh… kinda like those two guys that met there,” Dean mused, now looking at his brother. “James and Steve?” he tried.

“James and Stephen, yeah. James’s fiancée said the guys hit it off real bad. Like… they pretty much spent the whole evening together, never even got with anyone else.”

“Bernard confirmed as much, he was also here when the two men were. When I asked if he knew about the couple from the plane, he said he’s never met them. But he’s heard things… things he said he’d love to share with me later tonight. We made plans to spend some time together at the club.”

Castiel squinted at the screen, daring Dean to say something against it.

“So what… you’re gonna let some random guy fuck you for information?” Dean asked, his expression a mix of hurt and disbelief.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no.” The angel turned to Sam, wanting to make sure he too was listening. “I already told Bernard that me and my husband decided not to have sex with other men. That we could “fool around”, but not go “all the way”.”

“Cas, lay off the air quotes, would you? You look like a doofus.”

Although he still sounded hurt, Dean hadn’t been able to annihilate the thin layer of fondness from his voice.

“I’ll try,” Castiel answered, now with a soft smile on his lips. “I’ll go take a shower before dinner,” he announced as he got up, making Dean groan when his junk appeared on screen again.

Sam waited to hear the water running to address his brother. “You okay?” he asked in a worried tone. “Wanna talk about it?”

Dean schooled his features and snorted. “Talk about what? Don’t answer… probably some girly crap again. Go on and braid your hair, Samantha… you goin’ out tonight. Gotta look pretty.”

“No need to be a jerk, Dean. This overcompensating shit is—”

“I’ll stop being a jerk the day you stop being a little bitch!”

Dean’s face disappeared from the screen before Sam could say another word. He sighed and closed the computer lid, wondering what he’d ever done to deserve this. “Ah yeah!” he mused out loud, remembering the demon blood, Ruby, and every other stupid crap he did.

“I guess I had it coming…”


	5. SATURDAY

When his arm collided with a warm body, Sam woke up in a start. It took a moment for his sleep addled brain to remember where he was and how Cas hadn’t spent the night on the roof. Instead, he came back to the room – many hours after Sam had left the club – and hopped in bed with him. With pajama bottoms, to Sam’s relief.

“Good morning, Sam,” the angel said, the tiredness in his voice making it sound even rougher than usual.

Having flung his legs off the bed to start stretching, Sam turned a worried eye on his friend. “What’s with you? You okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m just not used to sleeping. Or waking up, for that matter.”

“Yeah… about that… how come you’re sleeping? Aren’t angels—”

“I’ve been stowing my grace for a couple of days now, I thought you noticed.”

“You’ve obviously been reading my mind, Cas. So no… I didn’t know.”

“I don’t need my powers to know what you’re thinking, it’s usually all over your face. Anyway, whatever we’re dealing with can’t know what I am if we want to catch it.” Castiel yawned, chuckled a bit, then yawned again. “I’m famished. Do you mind if we have breakfast brought to the room? I learned a lot from Bernard last night, I’d like to tell you and Dean at once. I could do this while we eat.”

“Yeah, okay… what are you in the mood for?”

Castiel’s choices of food ever so happened to be the very same greasy stuff Dean would order, but Sam didn’t have the heart to say a single thing against it. Castiel barely ever ate, so what if he wanted to indulge in pancakes, bacon, sausages, fried eggs, and hash browns? And because this was supposed to be a vacation, Sam decided he’d be having the same thing, promising himself his next meals would be far fresher and healthier.

Half an hour later, they were sitting at the bistro table with their food, waiting for Dean to answer their call. When he appeared on screen, a bottle of beer already in hand, Sam couldn’t help the purse in his lips.

“Really, Dean? That’s your breakfast?”

Dean mimicked his brother’s facial expression before taking a swig, his eyes taunting on his brother. “It’s cereal… and I’ve been up for hours. For me it’s like the afternoon already.”

Sam glanced at the clock-radio; 11:29 AM.

“Your liver, man,” he said before pointing at Castiel. “Cas has stuff to tell us, explains the breakfast call.”

“Two birds, one stone,” Castiel said, a half eaten sausage between his fingers. When Dean’s eyes shifted, it became evident he had made sure not to look at the angel until that very moment.

“No need to tell us what you’ve been up to. Not much into gay porn and such…”

Sam knew for a fact Dean had watched gay porn – not just the girl on girl kind, not just once, and on Sam’s own computer no less. “Dean, don’t be an ass,” he chose to say rather than confronting him about his lie, then shoved a forkful of pancakes in his mouth.

“I don’t intend on sharing my sexual exploits, Dean. I only need to relay the information I compiled so you’ll know what to look for.”

Dean scoffed. “Sexual exploits… are you hearing this, Sammy?”

Not in the mood for whatever Dean was trying to get into, Sam shrugged and shook his head, making sure to keep his mouth full so he’d have an excuse to stay out of it.

“You’ll be happy to know that once drunk, Bernard is more in a talkative mood than a sexy one. And I made sure he drank plenty.” Castiel sent a satisfied smile to Dean as he rolled one of the pancakes and ate it like a sausage, sans syrup.

“That’s not how you eat pancakes,” Dean muttered.

Ignoring Dean’s comment, Castiel took time to finish his pancake before speaking again. “Do you know there are rumors about this place? Or, legends if you prefer… urban legends.”

“Yeah, found some stuff online. Nothing that really makes sense though. The building’s kinda new and I couldn’t find a single death in the hotel itself. No misplaced cemeteries or special artifacts either.”

“Bernard told me some say this place is haunted, but like you, I’m certain it’s not. Others believe you have a greater chance of meeting your soulmate here than anywhere else.”

“That last one could make sense. Everyone that comes here is into nudism and swinging… you know, common interests and stuff,” Sam chimed in as he served Cas and himself some more coffee.

“I’ll admit, I didn’t think much about analyzing all that nonsense.”

“Too busy getting it on?”

Once more, Castiel ignored Dean as he emptied three sugar packets in his cup. “I really started listening when he mentioned the couple that died on the plane.” He glanced up, glad to see both Winchesters now looking at him in rapt interest.

“Bernard never met them, but he did meet another guest that was on that same flight. He couldn’t remember the woman’s name, but from what she said, they were another very popular couple. In her own words, or so Bernard says, they were a “joy to watch”, always “wrapped up in each other” and “oozing sex from their every pore”.”

“Just like the others,” Sam said while Dean snorted at the angel’s excessive use of air quotes.

“Exactly… which is enough to convince me we’re looking at something that feeds on lust.”

“Like an incubus?”

Tearing a strip of bacon in half, Castiel shook his head before shoving both pieces in his mouth. “I doubt it. Whatever’s happening isn’t how they usually do things, nor do succubi. There are lesser known sex demons Dean could investigate instead. Or forgotten deities, maybe.”

“And where the hell do you think I’ll find lesser known sex demons and forgotten deities? I doubt there’s a dating app for horny monsters. Can’t you give me a starting point? A name? Anything?”

When Castiel turned a dark eye at the screen, Dean’s throat constricted. “I gave you a starting point, Dean. It’s not an incubus, nor is it a succubus. It kills humans in pairs, pairs that were particularly amorous and concupiscent. Which brings me to conclude it feeds on the power of their lust.”

Sam cleared his throat. “If that’s the case, then whatever’s doing this might not find anything to snack on before we have to leave. We’ve been here three whole days and I haven’t seen anyone looking overly affectionate. Except Maureen and Mark, maybe.” He cleared his throat again, now with a bit of heat in his cheeks. “I’ve seen people having lots of sex and with many different partners, but nothing out of the ordinary, you know?” _How is this my life_? he asked himself, the whole thing starting to make him mentally exhausted.

“I do believe Darla and I to have very nice chemistry,” Castiel said, making Dean huff again. “We could be the perfect bait.”

“Cas, all you guys do is make out here and there. That’s not what that thing’s after, I’m sure. Plus, there’s no way we can endanger a civilian.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time, Sam… plus, I’m an angel, I can protect her.”

“Not if you keep stowing your grace.”

“What?”

Both Sam and Castiel turned to Dean. “What do you mean, he’s stowing his grace?”

“Exactly what it means, Dean. If I can see the true nature beneath everyone’s skin, would it be their soul or real visage, then it’s possible the culprit could do the same.”

“Maybe that’s why you guys haven’t found anything yet, then. Maybe it saw you and got the fuck outta dodge.”

“It’s not impossible, but I doubt it. I believe the creature won’t be in the hotel until tonight.”

The brothers spoke as one. “Why?”

“As you know, there’s no real correlation between the couples. Well, they were all here at some point, were apparently charismatic lovers, and they died in the same manner, and all on a Tuesday, if I’m not mistaken.” He chewed at his lower lip for a second, then shrugged before speaking again. “What I mean is there’s no apparent ritual or specific length of time between the deaths. I believe whatever killed them did so on the basis of opportunity. Humans that connect on such a level of intimacy might be rare enough that the creature will feed whenever it encounters it.”

“But why tonight?” Sam insisted.

“Billy explained the general public could visit the club, but only on Saturday evenings. I’m thinking it’d be the perfect opportunity for the killer to come and look around, see if it finds what it craves. And, it being here on a Saturday might explain why its victims all died on a Tuesday.”

“How?”

“Not sure, but I think there might be a delay from the moment the monster chooses its victims and the moment they actually die.” He looked at Dean again. “It’s just a thought…”

“As I said, we haven’t seen anyone being overly sensual,” Sam felt the need to insist.

“Well, seems there’s gonna be new people around tonight. If you’re lucky, sparks will fly and you’ll find out who the killer is,” Dean said before chugging the last of his beer. “We need to know what that thing is and how to kill it. Sam? Make sure you keep your phone with you today, okay? I’ll no doubt need you guys on this.”

Sam and Castiel walked into the club a little after ten, wearing nothing but the key cards around their necks. There weren’t that many people yet, so they went to sit in a cluster of loveseats where they’d have a nice view of the dance floor as well as the visitors entryway.

An hour later, Darla was sitting on Castiel’s lap while Sam tried to ignore Mark and Maureen making out on the sofa next to them. He kept his eyes on the dance floor, making a mental list of all who came into the club, trying to determine if they looked suspicious at all. Or overly sexual.

As expected, most of the newcomers were male and, unlike the hotel guests, not necessarily naked. What Sam hadn’t expected was to see someone he knew very well walk through the doors around midnight.

He could only gape at the sight of his brother wearing tight – very tight – red boxer shorts and sashaying onto the dance floor. He stopped when one of the guests, Allison, grabbed his arm to pull him toward her. They locked eyes and started dancing, their bodies colliding in time with the music as she caressed and kissed his chest – she was too short to reach any higher, even with the five inch heels on her feet.

Things got more heated when her husband joined in to press himself against Dean’s back. Convinced his brother would panic and opt out, Sam’s already slack jaw almost detached when the hunter’s hands flung backward to grab Clive’s naked buttcheeks and press him closer. A second later, he was grabbing Allison and hauling her up. She wrapped her legs around both men to start humping Dean, claiming his mouth with hers.

Castiel yelped when Sam squeezed his knee. When he glanced at his friend and saw the shock on his face, he gently pushed Darla aside to try and find whatever Sam could be looking at.

“Sam?” Castiel said when he saw Dean, now unable to look away.

“I know…”

All they could do was watch while Dean danced with the couple, doing things Sam could have sworn his brother would never let himself do – or be seen doing. And yet, that mouth on the back of his neck, that was a guy’s mouth. And that thing poking his ass? That was a very interested dick.

 _Look away, look away, look away_ , Sam pleaded with himself while his eyes refused to budge. Only when the song ended and Dean left the couple did Sam’s brain start functioning again. The older Winchester came to sit on the coffee table, not even trying to hide his half chubby as he faced his friend and brother.

Sam leaned forward so only Dean could hear. “What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be doing research.”

“You guys didn’t bring your phones. Found stuff I need to check with Cas.” As he spoke, his gaze locked onto Castiel’s own shocked one. With a crooked smile, Dean snapped his fingers in the angel’s face, breaking him out of his stupor.

“Dean… you’re here,” Castiel said.

“Yeah… who’s your friend?”

Castiel gave Dean a confused look before remembering he had a girl sitting on his lap. He looked at her and squinted some more, her name evading him for some reason. She huffed and shook her head.

“I’m Darla… nice to meet you. You’re a friend of these guys?”

“Old friend, yeah,” Dean said, not looking away from the angel as he spoke. “Say, Sammy… do you mind if I take your hubby dancing?”

Before Sam could object – not that he would – Castiel had gotten to his feet, not minding Darla who was now half sprawled on the sofa. Dean got up too and led Cas to the dance floor with a hand on his lower back. After making herself more comfortable, Darla leaned over to speak into Sam’s ear.

“I’m afraid you just lost your man, Sam. I almost got thrown to the floor he got up so fast.”

Sam didn’t respond, instead keeping his eyes on his friend and brother. They were mostly talking, but Sam knew better. They wouldn’t be talking for much longer if their body language was anything to go by.

_[This song](https://youtu.be/S0z1Mo7O6dE) was my inspiration for the following scene.   
I’ve been picturing Dean and Cas dancing to this for years!!_

 

“So I was reading about all that boring stuff… d’you know those ancient gods were real horndogs?” Dean said in Castiel’s ear when they reached the dance floor. He’d been trying to keep his distance – because naked angel parts – but the music was so loud that he had no choice but to be close.

“Some of them were, yes,” Castiel answered, sliding his hands up Dean’s arms to rest them on his shoulders. The touch was light, yet it felt like trails of fire on the hunter’s skin.

His fingers itching with something to do, Dean splayed his own hands over the angel’s hips, his thumbs brushing against the tips of his V line. “I think—I think I found a good lead. Found a couple of old gods that could be doing this. Didn’t find no sex demons that matched, strangely enough.”

The last word caught in Dean’s throat when Castiel’s hands wrapped on the back of his neck. He cleared his throat and waited for the shivers along his spine to die down before speaking again. “There’s three—three gods that could be at work. Hmm… well… only one really sounds nasty enough, actually… and there’s the three days thing. Plus, the other two gods are more about love, I think.”

Dean couldn’t help the small moan he let out when Castiel’s filling dick collided with his crotch. “Careful with that thing, dude…” he could only say, hoping the angel would move back a little. “What do you know about Kuchu—huh—Kukukachu?”

Rather than moving away, Castiel pressed his body closer, steering Dean’s head down so he could speak in his ear. “You mean Kulchibboku?” he asked, the last syllable ending in an involuntary hum when Dean swaying his hips made their sexes rub together again.

Dean’s voice didn’t sound any better when he responded. “Yeah… that.”

“Gods this old… that’s highly improbable.”

Castiel slid a leg between Dean’s, forcing their bodies even closer together.

“They’ve been gone for thousands of years, Dean.”

He closed his eyes, relishing in the warmth radiating in his lower abdomen. His whole body shivered when Dean’s lips brushed against the shell of his ear.

“Maybe it was hibernating or something.”

“Gods don’t usually—”

The hunter’s lips were on his for no more than half a second.

“It was worshipped by cavemen—” Castiel tried to continue, only to get kissed again.

“Too old to—”

“Shut the fuck up, Cas,” Dean said, this time making sure the angel wouldn’t try to speak by holding his face in place and sliding his tongue between his lips.

They made out for what felt like hours, rutting against each other in the middle of the room, only taking their hands off of each other to swat away those who dared getting too close. Until there were no more strange hands, no more music; nothing outside Dean and Castiel existed as they kissed and humped each other.

When Dean came in his underwear, it was with a broken moan and both his hands tangled in the angel’s hair. He moaned again when Castiel followed him, soaking the hunter’s shorts some more. It prompted a tiny flicker of lucidity in Dean’s brain and he took a step back, shocked.

He looked around to notice they were pretty much alone on the dance floor. People stood to the sides and leered at them or made out ravenously. There was no inbetween.

“Cas?” he croaked when Castiel took a step forward to press himself against him again.

“I think you may be right,” the angel said as he slid his hands below the waistband of the hunter’s boxer shorts to lower them. “Kulchibboku could very well be doing this.”

His mind in a fog again, Dean shimmied out of his underwear, not caring where they ended up when he sent them flying with his foot.

He was much more interested in the hand Castiel had just wrapped around his shaft.

“You know those folks you guys wanted to know about? The Gasteyers?”

Sam nodded, unable to look away from the dance floor. He didn’t even flinch when Darla’s hand landed high on his inner thigh.

“From what I’ve heard, they would have been just as enticing as those two.”

She slid her hand higher, the back of it now brushing against his sex.

“I swear… it doesn’t happen often that we have people this hot, but when it does, everyone just goes crazy horny.”

She softly grabbed Sam’s filling dick, as enthralled as him by the spectacle of Castiel and Dean. When he didn’t push her away, she smiled.

“See what I mean?” she added before leaning toward his crotch to take him in her mouth.

The next time Dean had a moment of lucidity, he was lying on a mattress with Castiel bouncing on his lap. It took him a second to realise what the sensation on his dick consisted of. Panic rose in his chest, soon extinguished by the deliciousness of the angel’s warm insides.

“Cas…” he said in an elongated moan. He wanted – no, needed – to say something, but his mind went blank as he let himself bask in the heat surrounding him. He held onto the hands the angel had splayed on his chest and shut his eyes, now moving his own hips upward in time with Castiel’s own.

When lips landed on his, he sighed and let his mouth be ravaged. Only when he felt the extra hands and long hair brushing his face did he open his eyes again. The gaze on him wasn’t blue, instead a pale shade of brown with gold specs. He didn’t know those eyes and couldn’t find it in himself to care. Especially when the mouth and eyes disappeared to be replaced by the most beautiful pussy he’d ever seen.

The world went away again and when it came back, Dean was on his hands and knees, an unfamiliar pressure in his ass. He cried out when that pressure lit a fire inside him, making fireworks explode under his skin. He didn’t bother looking to know it was Castiel splitting him open and jacking him off.

“Dean… you’re—you’re amazing,” he heard the angel say, confirming what he already knew.

“You’re both amazing,” Dean heard in an unknown voice, followed by Castiel letting out a loud moan as he came inside him.

“F—f—fuck, Cas!” the hunter sputtered as he came about five seconds later.

Whoever else was with them – Dean didn’t know a thing about her save for the color of her eyes and hair – came as well, with a weirdly guttural groan. And as she did, Castiel moaned some more, still moving inside Dean and brushing over the hunter’s sensitive prostate. Dean mewled as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Enough…” he croaked before everything went dark again.

Still on the sofa, Sam kept his gaze on his friend and brother while Darla let him come deep down her throat. The force of his orgasm made him shut his eyes and when he opened them again, Dean and Castiel weren’t on the dance floor anymore. He probably would have been panicking had he not been already getting hard again.

As Darla sheathed herself on his dick, Sam’s worries flew away. All that mattered was that body on top of him and how good those sensations were. Everything felt so amazing that when Maureen and Mark joined in, he welcomed their hands and mouths without a care in the world.

“We’ve been wanting you for so long,” Maureen murmured in his ear while Darla moved off of him so Mark could take her place. Sam could only watch in awe as Mark slid his ass down his wet shaft, gasping at how tight and warm the man felt.

Mark leaned back and moved to capture Sam’s mouth with his while Darla straddled him and started kissing Maureen.

Sam’s senses were in overdrive. He lost himself in the sounds, the smells, and the tastes, every inch of his skin sweaty and tingling. He forgot where he was and why, only interested in whatever he could touch and feel.

He came long and hard, and often too, not even sure where he did anymore. Even the faded sensations of Mark coming in his mouth didn’t bother him. All he knew was that he’d been having the most glorious sex he’d ever had and wanted to keep on having it for the rest of his life.


	6. SUNDAY AM

As blissful sleep started evading him, Dean didn’t bother opening his eyes. He could feel the daylight trying to pierce through his eyelids and he groaned, flopping around to hide his face in the pillow. He was right about to fall back asleep when he heard a deep groan as an arm snaked around his waist.

“What the fuck!”

He turned back around to sit up against the headboard, feeling around to try and find his gun. When he didn’t, he opened his crusted eyes one at a time. Castiel slept next to him, his hand now dangerously close to Dean’s crotch.

“Cas? What the hell are you doing in my bed?” Dean said in a hiss before glancing around the room. _Okay, that’s not my bed, and not my crappy motel room_ , he thought when confronted with the luxury surrounding him. “Wake up, would you?” he said, swatting the hand away from him.

“Five more minutes,” the angel mumbled before turning his back to Dean.

“Oh, hell no! Wake up, Cas!” Dean repeated, prodding at Castiel with his foot. “Where the hell are we?”

As he said that, memories started flowing back. He swallowed thickly as he remembered thinking it would be a neat idea to crash Sam and Castiel’s investigation; they couldn’t have all the fun, could they? He looked at his watch, if only to confirm no more than a day had passed. He let out a relieved breath when he saw it was indeed Sunday.

The night before flashed before his eyes; the couple with their paws all over him, telling Cas about what he found as they danced, things getting hot and heavy…

“This is my and Sam’s room,” he heard Castiel say. The angel was now on his back and looking right at him, not caring about how the simple white sheet hugged his morning arousal.

The sight made Dean’s dick twitch and he forced himself to look away; too damn early for whatever this was. New images flooded his mind, a second pair of hands joining Castiel’s on him. Dean gagged, worried for a second about whose hands they’d been.

“Where’s Sam?” he asked with much difficulty.

“Last time I saw him, he was at the club downstairs, with Darla. I believe they engaged in sexual intercourse.”

Once more, Dean felt relief wash over him; he and his little brother hadn’t porked. _Thank God_ , he thought, scratching his belly absentmindedly, now remembering about the girl that sat on his face. Before he even looked down, he realised why his skin itched. He pursed his lips when he saw the flakes of dried come under his fingernails.

“Gross,” he said, wiping his hand on the sheet. “Gonna take a shower and leave. This is just too weird.”

Before he could move off the bed, Castiel grabbed his arm. “I think we should talk, Dean.”

“Nope. Not a chance. Not now, and not ever.”

Dean tried to make the angel let go, without success. Grace stowed or not, he was still pretty strong.

“Dean, this is important. Whatever happened yesterday, it has to do with our investigation. I told you the killer would be there, and I was right. Mostly, I believe it’s the man who shared the bed with us.”

Too stunned to speak, Dean erupted in laughter instead. He laughed for a little too long, although he knew Cas hadn’t said anything funny.

“You mean the girl that was in bed with us.”

“No, Dean… it was a man, I assure you.”

Castiel looked convinced enough for Dean to start getting worried. He knew for a fact that there had been a woman with them. Except that didn’t mean there hadn’t been a man as well.

“Look… I don’t know who you’re thinking of, but I remember her. She had brown eyes, long black hair… I ate her out, Cas! There’s no way I can be wrong about that.”

“I think you just confirmed the identity of our killer, Dean. From my perspective, it was a man with brown eyes and long black hair. I had his appendage in my mouth before he penetrated me.”

Dean almost choked on his tongue at the angel’s revelations. He took a calming breath, intended on ignoring the anger bubbling in his gut. “Cas… girls can wear strap—”

“Listen to me, Dean! The killer was in bed with us and you were right. It is Kulchibboku.”

Thinking back to his research, Dean nodded. “The Amazonian God?”

“Well… when they thrived, they weren’t Amazonian or South American. But if you were to superimpose maps of the Earth from then and now, I guess it would coincide, yes. I never would have thought it’d be them, though. They’re far too old.”

“Then what makes you think it’s them?”

“It’s an hermaphrodite, meaning it has both sexes. It could explain our different experiences.”

It took some time for Dean to speak again, his brows knitted together. “I wonder why Nunchaku put a spell on us like that. There were people already bumping uglies… she didn’t need us.”

“Kulchibboku didn’t put a spell on us, Dean. You came to find me, remember?”

“I had stuff to tell you.”

“We danced.”

“Didn’t wanna look suspicious.”

“We kissed.”

Dean pointed a finger at Castiel, squinting. “You kissed me… it would have looked weird if I pushed you away, don’t ya think?”

“You kissed me, Dean Winchester,” Castiel growled, having had enough of Dean’s blatant denial. He moved on his hands and knees to crawl over Dean, locking their eyes together. He sat on the hunter’s lap and brushed a soft hand over Dean’s chest.

“We caressed each other.” He canted his hips. “Our penises rubbed against one another.” He slid his hand down to rest against the crust of dried come on the hunter’s belly. “We orgasmed, Dean.”

Pure fear painted shadows on Dean’s face. He swallowed, cleared his throat, opened his mouth, but no words came out.

“As far as we know, Kulchibboku wasn’t even there yet. We didn’t need them, Dean; we were enough. I’m pretty sure is it our lust that called them to us.”

No matter how he wanted to deny every single word coming out of the angel’s mouth, Dean couldn’t. He knew Castiel was right, no matter how much he wanted to ignore it. And just like his aroused dick, it had become impossible to do so.

As he spoke, Castiel lowered the sheet from Dean’s lap and grabbed both their cocks in his hand. “They chose us, Dean. They will feed on us,” he managed to say, more breathless with each passing of his hand on their lengths.

Dean closed his eyes, his voice too weak when he tried to object to Castiel being all over him. “Then stop touching me. If we don’t—”

“I fear it’s too late. We’re marked, Dean. We’ve already exchanged fluids with them. They will get us whether we touch or not.”

“How—how—long?”

“Hgn—three—ooooh—three days. I’m—Dean!”

They came at once, hard and fast. When Dean opened his eyes again, he got an eyeful of the angel’s blues as they rested their foreheads together.

“What now?” Dean said under his breath. Castiel smiled, right about to answer, when a naked Sam barged into the room, looking as if he’d spent the night in a dumpster. He was mumbling to himself, never looking once at the bed where Dean and Castiel were frozen stiff.

They looked on as Sam went through the drawer to pick some clothes, then locked himself in the bathroom. Dean didn’t wait any longer, pushing Castiel off of him to start looking for his own clothes.

“Where’s my—”

He stopped and slapped himself on the forehead. “Took them off downstairs…” He turned to Castiel, pointing an accusing finger at him again as he kept whispering. “You took my underwear off of me, you gotta lend me a pair.”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Sam’s voice startled Dean who turned around, hiding his crotch from his little brother’s judging eyes.

“Huh… I…”

“We had sex,” Castiel said without missing a beat, getting off the bed to come stand next to Dean.

“No, Sam… it’s not—it’s—what about you, huh? Where the hell have you been?”

Dean didn’t miss the amusement in his brother’s eyes, electing to ignore it.

“In the club… a bunch of us got woken up when the cleaning crew came in,” Sam explained. “Dunno about you guys, but last night was hella weird. Like… on drugs kinda weird.”

“I believe Kulchibboku’s presence is to blame for that.”

Sam squinted at the angel. “Who? No! You know what? I really need to take a shower. Why don’t you guys have some food brought up while I go do that?” He then shoved a finger in his brother’s face. “I don’t care what you guys did or didn’t do, just don’t run away, all right? We got stuff to talk about.”

The younger Winchester disappeared into the bathroom again, leaving his brother to gape at the door. He turned to see Castiel already on the phone and ordering breakfast. He stayed where he stood, knowing he’d never hear the end of it if he decided to go.

“We should also take a shower,” Castiel said when he came back to stand next to Dean. “Normally, I could zap us both clean, but—”

“But you stowed your grace, yeah. Gotcha! Just… not at the same time… right?”

After close to thirty minutes of silence, Sam had enough and dropped the fork on his plate, startling both his brother and the angel.

“I know who’s doing this,” he announced as he took the cloth napkin off his lap to lay it over his unfinished breakfast. “I know you don’t believe me, Cas, but it’s Darla. I’m sure of it. I did things last night… I wasn’t in my right mind, she put a spell on me. I can’t even stand the girl.”

While Dean kept his eyes on his own plate, Castiel pushed his breakfast away. “I told you already, Sam; it’s not Darla.” As he spoke, he felt Dean’s eyes on him. He looked back at the hunter, silently requesting permission to continue.

Dean sighed and shrugged before going back to scarf down his steak and eggs.

“Dean and I… we met Kulchibboku. Actually, we had sex with them.”

“What? Why?”

“Come on, Sammy… do you think we knew?” Dean said, bits of food flying out of his mouth.

Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You’re a pig.” He turned back to Castiel. “So, we know who it is, that’s great. Do we know how to kill it? Better yet, do we know—hey! Wait a minute! You had sex with it… does that mean…?”

“Indeed. I’m certain that we’re their next meal. Unless we find a way, Dean and I will die like the Gasteyers and the others.”

“Always hoped I’d be dying with my dick wet,” Dean said. It didn’t matter that he sounded amused, they all knew this was no laughing matter.

“You guys won’t die. We know who it is and we’ll kill them.” Sam gave his friend and brother a reassuring smile before speaking again. “So… who is it? Who’s that Kulchibboku guy?”

“Not a guy,” Dean said while Castiel informed Sam of the hermaphrodite thing.

“You can’t say that anymore,” Sam said, making Castiel quirk an eyebrow at him. “Hermaphrodite.”

“Why not? That’s what they are, aren’t they?”

Sam shrugged. “It’s just one of those words… it’s been misused for a long time, kinda has a negative connotation to it now. Plus, the word itself is for something that’s medically impossible, or so they say. You know, having both complete and working sets of genitals. We’re supposed to say intersex instead.”

Castiel considered his friend for a long time before answering. “Sam… I would imagine this deity to be too old to subscribe to any of those human interpretations.” He paused again, squinting. “Then again, I believe Kulchibboku indeed doesn’t have two sets of working genitals, not the way humans would expect it. It’s actually their tail that doubles as a penis.”

“So… it was a chick with a tail, then,” Dean blurted, sounding a bit relieved.

“Or you could say Kulchibboku’s penis is misplaced, compared to humans anyway. However you want to put it, they have two sexes and know how to use them.”

When the trio paused again for some time, Sam once more was the one to break the silence. “So… a girl, or whatever, with a tail. Shouldn’t be hard to find, should it?”

“I don’t know about Dean, but I can’t remember their face. All I know, according to the lore, is that they might have somewhat rat-like features.”

“I don’t remember a face either,” Dean confirmed. “All I saw was brown eyes and long black hair.” _And a very nice pussy_ , he added to himself. “Can’t say about… you say rat-like features? Like, a twitchy nose, bucked teeth, and beady eyes? That kind of rat-like?”

“More like pointy features, maybe. You saw the eyes, they weren’t beady. Still, I’m afraid whoever they were won’t be in the hotel anymore,” Castiel provided. “Whatever enchanted everyone last night had to be some kind of magical cloak preventing them from being remembered accurately. And, as Sam suggested, it’s what would have made everyone so aroused.”

After dropping his plate on the service tray, Sam took out his laptop. “It may have messed with our minds, but I doubt it did anything to the cameras,” he said, starting up the device. Dean kept his eyes on the table as his brother hacked his way into the hotel’s security system.

“Can’t find cameras in the nightclub, but there’s plenty of them on the first floor.” He turned the laptop so Dean and Castiel could see. “Wanna take a look? Try to find whoever you had sex with?”

Dean and Castiel spent the next hour going through footage of the previous night, focusing on the cameras in the lobby. They saw many people coming in and out, but never spotted a single person that could have matched who they remembered sharing a bed with.

“This is useless,” Dean said after Sam switched to the camera near the elevators.

“Maybe Kulchibboku was already here, didn’t just come in yesterday,” Sam mused.

“Or maybe it doesn’t need a door to get in,” Dean countered.

“Like angels?” Castiel added, his gaze never leaving the screen while Dean shrugged. “Could be the case, they are a deity after all.”

A knock on the door startled the three men. They looked at one another, unsure of what to do.

“Yeah?” Sam yelled, ready to tell the maid to come back later.”

“Mr. Tyler? It’s Billy. I gave you the tour of the hotel on your arrival? I need to speak with you, if you don’t mind.”

Suspicious, Sam pointed to the suitcase, mimicking a gun with his hand. Dean nodded and went to grab the weapon before sitting back on his chair, resting the gun on his lap.

They held their breaths as Sam opened the door. On the other side stood Billy, wearing a face splitting grin. “Do you mind if I come in?”

Glancing at Dean and Castiel, Sam took a step back so Billy could walk in, shutting the door behind him.

He kept smiling as he gave Dean and Castiel a nod, then turned back to Sam.

“I’ve been sent here by management to inform you that… hmm… you have to know that your friend can’t be staying with you.”

“No, of course. My b—our friend got drunk and he needed a place to crash.”

“Yeah… I’m a friend. Got super drunk and shit.”

His amicable demeanor never faltering, Billy let out a relieved breath.

“I’m glad this is the case. As you may already know, single men aren’t welcome to reside at the hotel. Which is why I have to ask you to leave.”

“He was just about to do that,” Sam said, hoping his brother wouldn’t deny it.

Turning his attention onto Dean, Billy’s smile died down just a little bit. “If you could get dressed, sir, it’ll be my pleasure to accompany you back to the lobby.”

Dean cleared his throat. “My clothes… I can’t leave, they’re—”

“I see. You left your clothes in the changing room.”

Billy not-so-discreetly tried to catch a glimpse of Dean’s lower body, making the hunter swallow as he hid the gun with his hands. “I can’t see if you have underwear on or not, but we’ll have to go get your clothes. If you can please follow me, we can go through the staff elevator so you won’t encounter the other guests.

In order to get rid of the gun unnoticed, Dean wrapped an arm around the angel’s shoulders and kissed him soundly on the mouth as he transferred the weapon onto his lap. “Thanks for breakfast,” he said as he went to stand next to Billy. “We’ll talk later?” he asked Sam who responded with a simple nod, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

Once the men had left, Sam came back to sit with Castiel who had put the gun on the table. He made sure to catch his gaze when he spoke. “Don’t you think that was weird?”

“What?”

“Billy? He knew Dean was here.”

Sam looked around, wondering if there were any cameras hidden in the room. If there were, he hadn’t found a single feed for them.

“I did order breakfast for three people. I’d think that was a dead giveaway. Plus, the bellboy saw Dean when he brought the food up.”

“He could have been another guest of the hotel.”

“Indeed. Maybe they check everyone’s rooms on Sunday mornings. Billy did warn us about inviting “non-guests” up to our rooms.”

“He never said it was forbidden, not really. And anyway, he said management sent him.”

Castiel shrugged, his eyes back on the computer screen. _We have enough to worry about already_ , he thought as he replayed the camera feeds from the night before.

“What happens if we don’t find Kulchibboku?” Sam asked, worry gnawing at his gut. “We should join Kevin on Garth’s boat before your three days are up. It’s warded so it might not be able to get to you.”

“Not how it works, I’m afraid… we’ve been with them, they already own us. Wherever we are when our time’s up, the ritual will be completed.” He lifted his gaze, looking oddly tired. “I’m sure Kulchibboku didn’t need to be on that plane to get what they wanted. The couple did that on their own, engaging in sexual intercourse one last time. Their orgasm… they died from it.”

“What about those two guys, then? They weren’t even in the same city.”

Castiel shrugged once more. “I don’t know if they contacted one another while doing so, but I’m certain they must have indulged in onanism. This is when—”

“No, god, I know what onanism is… so, they could have had phone sex or whatever. Gotcha!” Sam shook his head, worrying at his lower lip. “So whatever happens, wherever you guys are, this thing will get your last orgasmic breaths?”

“It appears so.”

“And… what if we kill it?”

“I suppose nothing will come of it all. No urge, no lust, no dying.”

Sam shook his head at the angel’s response. “You suppose…” he muttered, turning his computer back toward him. “I don’t think you should be hiding your grace anymore,” he added as he tried to find all he could about the old god. “Maybe your grace could erase whatever that thing did to you and Dean.”

“I wish it could,” Castiel said as he flexed his fingers. “I’ve been trying to “start it up” again, without success.”

“Your grace is gone?”

“Not gone… dormant. Something’s preventing it from coming back to the surface.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Castiel rolled his eyes. “I believe we have enough problems as it is.”

Dismayed, Sam huffed and shook his head. “Well, I think it’s damn important that you don’t have your powers anymore, Cas.”

“I still have them, I just can’t… use them. Which, I agree, is unfortunate.”

 _Unfortunate… it’s a damn tragedy_ , Sam corrected for himself. His brother was bound to die because, once more, he hadn’t been able to follow instructions and had let his dick decide for him. He looked up at Castiel, his throat constricting at the thought that he too would be kicking the bucket if they couldn’t find a way out of this mess.

“Are you coming to the pool today?”

The sadness in Sam’s features transformed into incredulity. He waved at his computer. “Cas… we gotta find a way to save you and Dean. Pretty sure we won’t find it at the pool.”

“Can’t you bring the computer and do your research up there?”

“Too many people around. Wouldn’t wanna have to explain what it is I’m doing.”

Castiel went to sit on the the bed with a dejected sigh. Not in the mood to watch television, his mind went back to the previous night. He closed his eyes and let himself fall backward on the bed. He smiled at the memory of Dean’s face so close to his, his dick jumping as he remembered being buried in the hunter’s hole, his balls slapping against his ass as he went back and forth with ease, Dean making delicious sounds he’d nev—

“Cas! I swear to god, if you keep huffing and puffing like that, I’m kicking your horny ass out of the room.”

Startled, Castiel opened his eyes and hauled himself up on his elbows to send Sam an sheepish look. Except his friend’s disgusted expression didn’t falter as he kept his eyes away from the angel’s aroused neither regions.

“I’m serious, man. I didn’t lie before, I really don’t care what you guys do. Just leave me out of it, okay?”

Castiel nodded. “If I had my grace, I wouldn’t have all these feelings and urges. But now—”

“Yeah… that’s not something I wanna hear about either. Go up to the pool, dry hump a couple of guests, I don’t care. I just really need to work on this, all right?”

Without a word, Castiel got off the bed. Instead of taking his underwear off as he usually did, he went to the dresser to get some clothes. As he put them on, he glanced at Sam who had his eyes on the screen, uninterested about whatever Castiel was up to.

The angel waited to be out of the room to power his phone and make the call he desperately needed to make. His heart was going a thousand miles an hour, almost coming to a screeching halt when Dean answered.

“What?”

“I need you…”

“I—jesus christ—yeah, okay—still in the parking lot.” Castiel heard the creaking of the Impala’s door when Dean opened it. “Come find me.”


	7. SUNDAY PM

It didn’t matter that they had felt the need to be together again, Dean and Castiel didn’t say a single word as they made their way to the motel. Even after they had closed the door, they could only stand face to face, as far as possible from the double beds. The silence felt eternal as they waited for the other to speak.

“So—”

“I—”

Having spoken at once, they both stopped, now averting their eyes. With a sigh, Castiel motioned for Dean to speak. The hunter saw the movement from the corner of his eye and shook his head.

“Very well… I’ll start,” Castiel announced, going to sit on one of the beds. “I’m sorry for what happened last night, Dean.”

“Got nothin’ to be sorry for, Cas. We were both there, remember? It’s my own damn fault, I should have stayed away.” Dean looked up, now looking a bit frazzled. “Unless you mean you regret doing this with me. It’s okay, you know. I get it.”

Castiel shook his head, trying to catch Dean’s evading gaze as he came to sit on the other bed. “I don’t. What I’m sorry for is putting you in this position. If I hadn’t stowed my grace, nothing would have happened between us. You wouldn’t be on the verge of dying.”

“I’m a hunter, Cas. I’m always “on the verge of dying”.”

As he curled his fingers around the words, Dean lifted an amused gaze onto Castiel, spreading his legs just enough for his knee to rest against the angel’s.

“I gotta ask you something, though. It’s real important,” Dean said, serious once more. “What we did, on the dance floor, that was all me, I won’t even try to deny it, but… whatever happened after that, it’s pretty much a blur for me. You, with your super memory and all, do you remember everything?”

“I don’t, sadly. I can only recall parts of it.”

“Like what?”

Castiel licked his lips and Dean’s eyes shifted there, his dick twitching in his pants. “I remember sitting on you. Your penis was in my rectum.”

The only reason Dean’s face didn’t turn crimson red was because all his blood had diverted south already. He cleared his throat, half cringing from the angel’s proper vocabulary and half aroused by it.

“That’s it?” he managed to say, hating the tremors in his voice.

“No… I remember being frustrated to see someone come between us, shoving their sex in your face. I couldn’t see you anymore, and I hated it.”

Castiel got to his feet and came to stand between Dean’s spread legs, carding a hand in his hair. “I remember their penis hitting the back of my throat and how infinitely better it felt to have your mouth wrapped around mine.”

Dean gulped, not having a single souvenir of blowing Cas. “The next thing I remember is being penetrated while I did the same to you.” He leaned down to kiss Dean softly on the temple and speak in his ear. “It felt amazing to be inside you and to have you inside me, if that’s what’s worrying you.”

“Not what’s worrying me,” Dean croaked. “Did you even want—did you want to be—goddammit—did you even want a dick up your ass? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure angels aren’t supposed to be doing that shit.”

The hand in Dean’s hair stilled before dropping to his chin, forcing him to look up. Castiel’s blue gaze on him sent shivers down his spine. “I can’t lie to you… yes, God forbade angels to lie with humans. I never wanted nor craved sex before.”

“So… Chastity? Meg? Daphne?”

Castiel shrugged, the semblance of a smile on his lips. “As far as Chastity goes, I’d say you didn’t leave me much choice at the time. And you very well know I didn’t have sex with her. Meg was… it was part experimentation, part power play, and we only kissed. I really liked Daphne, but we never had sex either, I told you that already.” He tilted his head, now sporting a worried frown. “What about you, Dean? Did you not want this? Having a dick up your—”

“I don’t know, all right? It’s like I can’t think clearly anymore… everything’s so…”

Frustrated, Dean sighed as he grabbed Castiel’s hips, intended on pushing him back. Except he did the exact opposite, bringing the angel closer instead. He buried his face in the angel’s t-shirt, delighted by the warmth of his body and steady beating of his heart.

“Dean?”

“I took advantage of you.” He looked up again, his green gaze now misty. “I wasn’t myself, and you weren’t yourself, and we did stuff that—”

The angel’s arms wrapped around the shivering hunter. “Dean… I understand what you’re trying to say, but I swear to you; had I been uncomfortable or unwilling, I would have put a stop to it all.”

“We were under a spell, Cas. What we did—”

“I don’t believe we were,” Castiel said, cradling Dean’s face with both hands. “I can’t speak for you, but I promise that whatever we did, I welcomed all of it and would do it all over again. Except now, I’m worried you might feel like I’ve violated you.”

Castiel tried to let Dean go and take a step back, but the hunter didn’t let him, holding onto him even harder.

“I don’t, I swear, but… I love sex. Being with a guy crossed my mind before and I’m stoked it ended up being you.” He looked up again, the need to witness the angel’s truth in his eyes. “Cas, you said so yourself; you never wanted sex. How can you be okay with what we did last night?” He sighed. “Mostly, I hate the idea of that monster jumping in bed with us, taking you like it did. Did you even consent before it fucked you?”

A taste of bile rose on the back of Dean’s tongue. Getting down and dirty with Cas was one thing, but the thought of some type of tail-dick-thing railing the angel’s insides made him want to puke. Even the memory of that glorious cunt in his face was turning into a nasty one.

Castiel saw the fear in Dean’s eyes and dipped down to softly kiss his lips before extricating himself from his hold, sitting back on the other bed.

“Neither of us knew that they were… and as for consent, I don’t think it has ever been an issue for them. I was with you, it’s all that mattered to me.”

Castiel sighed, taking Dean’s hand in his before speaking again. “I don’t know how much you found out, but when Kulchibboku reigned, they didn’t need to ask for anything. Their followers knew what their god wanted and gave themselves without a second thought.”

“Yeah, kinda read as much… and the rituals… man…” His mouth curled up in a half-hearted smile. “Going to church would be more interesting if—”

“No need to be crass, Dean,” Castiel chastised him. “Anyway… so you know that back then Kulchibboku’s worshippers would refrain from any sexual activities until either equinoxes or solstices.”

“Those poor bastards…”

“Or not, since they would spend the next three days having sex without respite, Kulchibboku bathing in the overwhelming release of hormones. At the end of the three days, the most lustful pair would be swallowed whole.”

“Swallowed whole?”

“Their essence, if you will… Kulchibboku didn’t actually eat them.”

“And the people let it happen?”

“They yearned for it. Being chosen was the greatest of honors. Thanks to this sacrifice, women and crops would be fertile for yet another season.”

Dean scoffed and shook his head. “Except I don’t care about fertility and crap, and I’m certainly not honored to have been chosen. Wouldn’t that be against the rules or something?”

Castiel shrugged and came to stand between Dean’s legs again. “They’re a god, Dean… they make their own rules.” He climbed on the bed, his knees on either sides of Dean. “I don’t care either about what they want, I only know what I want. How about you? Is this something you want, or not?”

With an energetic nod, Dean wrapped his arms around the angel to pull him down on his lap. Clothes started flying off as they kissed, soon leaving them naked and panting in each other’s mouths.

And when Castiel slowly sheathed himself onto his erection, Dean could only gasp, a reverent look on his face, with Castiel’s legs trembling as he got used to his length.

That’s what Dean had missed the night before; how they came to be moving together the way they did, how it felt when he first breached Castiel’s hole. Which probably explained how he couldn’t last long, his orgasm shooting out of him after less than five minutes.

Next time would be better.

It didn’t matter how pissed Sam was at being unable to find Castiel anywhere in the hotel, the door closer prevented him from slamming their room door shut. Instead, he passed his frustration by being rough with his computer and cell phone, swiping screens with too wide gestures and typing with unnecessary force. He very well knew where the angel had gone and he couldn’t wait to give him shit about it.

He huffed when he saw Dean wasn’t logged onto Skype either. He’d been gone for hours, meaning he should have been back in his room already, deep in research and available to chat if need be. When his brain provided how Dean probably was buried deep into something else, Sam shook his head, trying to will the unwanted images away. He knew they had gotten together, didn’t mean he wanted to picture it.

After trying to call and text both Dean and Castiel, Sam prayed, hoping the angel could still hear him. A whole hour later, Sam had given up, back in searching mode as the light declined outside. And when Castiel came back to the room a little after sundown, Sam was still pissed enough to keep his eyes on the computer in front of him.

“Hello, Sam,” Castiel said, well aware of his friend’s state of mind; the four angry voicemails he’d left him had been enough to know. “I’m sorry,” he still said as he came to sit with him at the table. “Dean and I, we had to—”

“Nah, I get it, you were bewitched or something and you had to keep on fucking. Just… I don’t need to know what you guys do, all right?”

“Sam… we weren’t bewitched, I promise you.”

Sam had a sour expression on his face when he looked at the angel. “Oh, so you ditched me to go fuck my brother just because you felt like it? Do you really think now’s the best time, Cas? If we don’t find a way to kill Kulchibboku, you and Dean are dead!”

“I didn’t—Sam, you told me to leave you alone.”

“You were distracting me, thought you’d be going upstairs… you know… to investigate, ask questions.”

“We know who’s doing this, Sam.”

“Yeah, and maybe they’re still here. Out of the two of us, you’re the one who has a better chance of recognizing them.”

Deflated, Castiel shook his head before locking his gaze onto Sam’s. “I’m sorry, okay? You’re right when you say that Dean and I wanted to be together, but we also needed to talk. He’d been worried that when—”

“No details, Cas!”

“Of course… he’d been worried that us getting together hadn’t been totally consenting on my part.”

A small flicker of pride ignited in Sam’s heart. Dean had alway been a horndog, but learning he was diligent about proper consent made him happy. It wasn’t enough to not be mad at them anymore, but it did make him wonder if his friend and brother felt they’d been coerced into sex after all. And if they did, did it mean he had been as well?

“Was it?” he asked, thinking back to his own foursome experience.

“Yes… we did come together because we wanted to. As for everything else that happened, I think Kulchibboku’s magic had something to do with it. Still, I don’t regret a thing. Not even having a third person in bed with us, whoever they may have been.”

“A monster, Cas… that’s what they were.” He swallowed, having to admit to himself that he couldn’t regret a single thing about the previous night either. “But I know what you mean,” he said after a short pause. “What I did last night… and with Darla nonetheless… I wish I could say I feel violated, but I don’t. Not by her, and not by Maureen or Mark.”

Mirth shone in Castiel’s eyes. “Maureen and Mark? You caved?”

“Yeah, I did,” he conceded. “No need to tell Dean, though. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

After having a late dinner brought up to the room, Castiel convinced Sam to go spend some time at the club. Contrary to Saturday evening, there weren’t that many people, and not much was happening either. Clearly, the night before tapped everyone out.

Except for Mark and Maureen who waved excitedly when they saw them, patting the sofa next to them. Sam smiled as he hugged Cas from behind and kissed the top of his head, hoping they’d understand he’d rather spend the evening with his husband. They smiled back at him and nodded before going back to doing whatever they were doing; Sam made sure to look away so he wouldn’t have to see it.

They sat a little bit further and were sipping on their second beer when Darla came in, making a beeline for them. This time, rather than sitting on Castiel’s lap, she elected to crowd Sam’s space and shoved her tongue in his mouth before he could do a thing against it. Until he did, gently pushing her back so he could tell her to get lost… or something to that effect.

“Not tonight, Darla,” he said in an apologetic tone with his brows scrunched together. “Cas and I are taking some time for ourselves.”

She huffed, not letting Sam push her off of him. “You could do that in your own room. I’m leaving in the morning, and we had so much fun yesterday, didn’t we? Please…” she purred in his ear before taking the lobe between her teeth.

He chuckled – because it kind of tickled – and tried to evade her again. “Yeah, we did have fun, but that was yesterday,” he reiterated, hoping she’d understand without him having to get testy about it. She must have because she pouted and got back to her feet.

“All right,” she said, desire still burning hot in her eyes. “It really sucks that I never got to be with the both of you at once, though. Imagine? Your dicks rubbing together inside my very tight and very wet pussy.”

Sam swallowed, the image of Darla being filled by two dicks somewhat delicious. Except there was no way this could ever happen if the second dick was to be Cas’s. That had to be why Mark’s dick replaced Cas’s in the fantasy, making his own cock jump at the thought.

“I knew it,” Darla growled as she kneeled on the carpet, wrapping a hand around both their lengths. “I’ll make it so good for you.”

Whatever had made him compliant the night before wasn’t at play anymore. Sam swatted her hands away from them both before getting to his feet, pulling her up by the arm. “I said no, Darla! Please, leave us alone.”

He made sure she was stable on her feet before letting her go. She looked up at him, her dark stare not having a thing to do with lust anymore. “You put your hands on me again and I’m calling the cops, you hear?”

“You’re the one who put your hands on us after we said no, Darla.”

“Castiel never said no. Plus, I saw your dick perk up… he’s not a liar, unlike you.”

“Wasn’t thinking of you,” he said while Castiel got to his feet and took Sam’s hand in his.

“I didn’t say yes either,” Castiel added. “Sam and I are together, Darla. If he says no, then it’s a no from me too, otherwise I would have said so. You propositioned the two of us, and the two of us politely declined.”

“Is everything okay here? Are these men harassing you, ma’am?”

Sam and Castiel straightened up at the sight of the security guard that had come to stand behind Darla. She gave them a triumphant look before turning around.

“Yes, sir. I don’t think they like hearing the word no.”

With a frown, the guard came closer to scan the key cards dangling from the men’s necks. “Mister Tyler, Mister Tyler… if you’ll please follow me.”

Now turning his back to Darla, the guard never saw the satisfied smirk on the woman’s face. Sam glared at her, but still complied, pulling Castiel behind him as he walked toward the exit.

“Hey! Stop! Sir, Sam and Cas did nothing wrong!”

Castiel looked over his shoulder to see some of the other guests had gotten closer. Maureen came to stand between them and the guard.

“They were the ones being harassed,” Maureen said, pointing at Darla. “She came in and was all over them. They didn’t want to be with her.”

“Mind your own business, would you?” Darla spat. “How could a single woman be harassing two men, huh?”

“By trying to get with them when they clearly want to be left alone.”

Apparently not a patient man, the guard interjected. “Enough!” He scanned Darla’s card and pointed at the door. “You too, Mrs. Barrett. I’m gonna let the manager settle this one.”

It didn’t take long for Mrs. Torres, the night manager, to settle the matter. It so happened Darla had been implicated in a similar situation before, meaning Sam and Castiel were awarded the benefit of the doubt while Darla was escorted back to her room after promising she’d stay there until checkout the next morning.

After thanking the manager, Sam and Castiel went back to their room, not in the mood to socialize anymore. They were both in their underwear and bathrobes when someone knocked on the door.

“Room service,” someone said from the other side.

Sam had gotten the gun from his suitcase, hiding it behind his back as he approached the door under Castiel’s watchful gaze.

“We didn’t order anything,” he called back.

“It’s a complimentary bottle of champagne, sent by Mrs. Torres. The night manager?”

Prudent, Sam opened the door, still holding the weapon behind his back. A skinny bellboy stood on the other side with a cart filled with goodies; a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, two flutes, and a plate overflowing with mini-pastries, chocolates, and fresh fruits.

“Mrs. Torres asked me to express her most sincere apologies for what happened earlier.”

After rolling the cart toward the bed, he popped the bottle open and filled the two flutes before leaving without another word.

“You didn’t give him money,” Castiel noted as Sam disposed of the gun.

“Neither did you.”

Castiel shrugged and went to sit on the bed, patting the mattress so Sam would join him. The hunter rolled his eyes, but still smiled as he complied. They sipped on the bubbly nectar and munched on the snacks while watching one of the rare TV channels not showing porn.

“We don’t have much time left,” Sam said after ingesting a ridiculously large strawberry, keeping his eyes on the television as he spoke. “If we don’t find how to—”

“We will, Sam. I’m sure we will.”

“Even if we do find how to kill Kulchibboku, we don’t even know where they are, or who they are.”

“We could try to summon them. As soon as we know how to kill them, of course.”

This time, Sam turned to face Castiel, sitting cross-legged. “So we can trap them? Like we do with angels and holy oil?”

Having shoved an entire chocolate mini tart in his mouth, Castiel shrugged, squinted, shook his head, then shrugged again.

“So… no!” Sam surmised, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the angel.

After refilling their glasses, Sam went to grab his laptop to bring it back to the bed. He powered it up while Castiel used the remote to put the TV back on one of those music channels. Sam considered the Skype icon, hovering the mouse over it for a while before opting to leave it be. If Dean had something to say, he just had to call his phone.

“I found some interesting stuff,” Sam announced instead, bringing up the page he’d been reading earlier that day. He’d found some obscure recollections of Kulchibboku’s legends, stuff he would never have found if he hadn’t been specifically looking for it. Not the dark web, but damn close to it.

“I think Kulchibboku might have still been worshipped until not so long ago,” he said, pointing to a grainy black and white picture on the screen. “At least until the late sixties, maybe.”

“I don’t think that’s right. We would have known.”

“Gabriel hid from Heaven for I don’t know how long. Kulchibboku’s a god.”

Chewing at his bottom lip, Castiel nodded. Most creatures, even humans, had ways to cloak themselves from Heaven if they wanted to. Which meant Kulchibboku probably could too.

“Found this thing about an American crew filming a movie in the rainforest over fifty years ago.”

“What movie?”

“Doesn’t say, but it never saw the light of day. It seems production halted when the whole thing turned into some kind of orgy. And, well… the two lead roles died.” He looked up at Castiel, a resolved expression on his face. “Apparently they had incredible chemistry. Hooked up on set and everything. Sounds familiar?”

“So… you think they worshipped Kulchibboku?”

“I wouldn’t think so… I think the crew was unlucky enough to stumble into something they shouldn’t have.” Sam scrolled down to another black and white picture. A beautiful woman sat on a tree trunk in the jungle with ‘Patricia Longhorn, Brazil, 1966’ scribbled at the bottom. “See this?” Sam said, pointing at something in the background.

Castiel got closer, squinting at the screen. “That’s a rafflesia,” he said, recognizing the huge polka dot flower the woman was posing in front of.

“Yup… had to look it up, but that’s what I came up with as well.”

“And how does that help us?”

“Okay… it may be far fetched, but get this: that flower’s usually found in Asia, but it can also be found in the Amazon Rainforest. Proof is there, says the picture was taken in Brazil… they also say it smells like rotten flesh. I kid you not, when I woke up downstairs this morning, the whole club reeked. Believe me, I know what corpses smell like, and that was a lot like it.”

“So you think there’s a rafflesia in the hotel?”

“There’s not. I tried to see if it could be imported and sold, but it is said to be remotely impossible to displace. There’s only one botanist who’s ever been able to do this. Dr. Brown was able to successfully transplant one and have it bloom for the first time about twelve years ago. You won’t be surprised to know that I found more weird sex deaths going back as far as 2002. Too much of a coincidence, if you ask me.”

“It’s rather thin.”

“I know, but I still think we should investigate this guy further.”

“Let me guess… that botanist you found is here in Miami?”

Sam’s face broke into a crooked smile. “He most certainly is.”


	8. MONDAY

Sending Sam inside the Miami Botanic Institute alone hadn’t been Dean’s idea. In fact, he hated the thought of his brother going in there to maybe confront some sort of god by himself. Sam hadn’t been gone for five minutes that Dean pulled the keys out of the ignition and prepared to go join him.

“Dean!” Castiel said, dropping a strong hand on his shoulder.

“He shouldn’t be in there alone, Cas. It’s a fucking god we’re talking about! What if—”

“He’s already coming back. Look!” Castiel provided, pointing at the younger Winchester walking back to the car in long strides. He opened the door and sighed as he sat in the passenger seat.

“That info I found was dated; Dr. Brown hasn’t been working here for some time now. They said he’s still in Florida, but wouldn’t tell me where.”

“What about the rafflesia? Did you see it?” Castiel asked, his hand now soft on Dean’s shoulder.

“It’s not here. The girl I spoke to didn’t even know what I was talking about. She had to check the Institute’s database.” As he talked, Sam kept his eyes on his phone, already trying to find the botanist. “We gotta go back to the hotel, I won’t find shit with this thing.”

Dean glanced in the rearview mirror to catch Castiel’s gaze. The angel looked back at him and seemed to understand whatever the hunter didn’t wish to voice himself. He let his shoulder go and leaned back in his seat.

“Why not go to Dean’s motel room instead? He has a computer, you could use it for your research, couldn’t you?”

Sam huffed and looked up to glare at the both of them. “What for? So you guys can make googly eyes at each other while I do all the work? I’m surprised you haven’t suggested that I go back to the hotel alone.”

“Sam—”

“In case you don’t remember, you only got about thirty-six hours left before you’re sucked dry by a paleolithic god. I’ll be way more efficient trying to find a solution on my own computer.” He shut off his phone and shook his head. “We could get my computer and go back to Dean’s, if that’s what you really want.”

“I think that’s a great idea, Sam,” Castiel provided with a smile. “There’s no law against us spending a day outside the hotel is there?”

“No, there’s not. If anyone asks, we can just say we’ve been sightseeing.”

An hour later, they were back in Dean’s room, both Winchesters deep in research mode while Castiel couldn’t do much else but wait. He sat close to Dean, looking at the screen over the hunter’s shoulder.

“Cas… it’s a bit distracting,” Dean said under his breath, squirming under the warm fingers the angel had snuck underneath his shirt, near the belly button.

Castiel huffed and moved his hand away, only to rest it on Dean’s thigh the next second, his thumb softly caressing the denim, high on the inseam. The hunter inhaled through his teeth, prepared to chastise the angel again.

“Ah ha!” Sam almost screamed, startling the angel into taking his hand off of Dean for good. “Found him, found Dr. Brown,” he explained as he turned his computer around. “He’s retired and lives on Marco Island. It’s about two hours from here.”

Dean shut the lid of his own computer. “You guys up for a drive?”

“I knew we should have called,” Dean grumbled as they walked back to the car. He sat behind the wheel, with Sam and Castiel getting into their usual seats.

“You could have called if you wanted to so badly… still, I doubt the maid would have told us anything over the phone. Now, we know he’s spending the day on his boat.”

Dean scoffed, turning the ignition on. “Yeah? And what good does that do us?”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda hungry,” Castiel provided from the backseat. “If we have to wait anyway, I suggest we go grab a bite.”

Chuckling, Dean arched an eyebrow at his brother who smiled and nodded.

“All right, sunshine. Let’s go get you something to eat.”

It took some time for Dean to find something he deemed suitable, to Sam’s utter dismay. It didn’t matter how much his brother insisted, Dean couldn’t bare the thought of having lunch anywhere that specialized in seafood.

“That crap taints everything, Sammy… my burger would taste like fucking fish, I just know it. That’s if they even have burgers.”

“That last place did, Dean. Look around, would you? You can’t be surprised that fish is a specialty around here.”

“I don’t care! If I have to, I’ll find a McDonald’s just to make sure I won’t have fish in my burger and fries.”

If Castiel didn’t care either way, Sam could only be relieved that they found a diner rather than a McDonald’s. Overly smug, Dean led the way inside and waited for Castiel to sit across Sam before sliding next to him on the bench. An older man wearing a net came to drop menus on the table and went away without a single word of greeting.

“So… bacon cheeseburger and fries?” he asked the angel after barely looking at the menu.

Castiel himself didn’t bother reading it, smiling at the hunter as he slid a discreet hand on his thigh. “Most certainly. I haven’t had a burger in ages… not since—”

“Famine, yeah…” Dean completed for him, linking his fingers with the angel’s just as discreetly. Or so he thought.

“You know I know, right?” Sam eventually said from behind his menu. “You may think you’re being subtle, but you’re not.”

“So what? Want us to start making out?” As he spoke, Dean wrapped an arm around the angel’s neck, pulling him closer. “You like to watch, little brother? I knew there had to be a reason why you insisted to be the one going to that hotel.”

He may have been all bravado when it came to teasing his brother, Dean still took his arm off of Castiel to grab his hand under the table instead. Sam tsked and dropped his menu on the table. Not a minute later, a petite brunette came to take their order. If Sam hadn’t already been craving some kind of seafood, he would have made sure to order some anyway just to annoy his brother.

The look on Dean’s face when Sam ordered a caesar salad topped with fried shrimp? Priceless!

The sun was getting low on the horizon when they drove back to Dr. Brown’s. Unlike most houses in these parts, he didn’t seem to have his own dock. Still, Dean parked the Impala so he had a partial view of the canal.

About half an hour later, a dark sedan turned in the driveway. The driver, a man well in his fifties, got out before going to the passenger door to open it. When a young woman with her long black hair in a braid came into view, both Dean and Castiel sucked in a breath.

“That’s her! That’s Kutchikutchikoo,” Dean said in a hiss, rage already pumping through his veins. If his brother and friend hadn’t made sure to hold him down, he would have been on his way to kill a bitch already.

“Dean! You gotta stay put, all right? Are you sure that’s them?”

“He’s right, Sam… this is Kulchibboku, except… we still don’t know how to get rid of them.”

Dean turned around to glare at Castiel. “We have angel blades, man. Pretty sure that should be enough to waste it. Or at least hurt it a lot.”

“There’s no guarantee this will—” Sam started, only to be interrupted by Castiel.

“I actually think he’s right. After all, angel blades can kill most creatures.”

“And you’re only telling us now?” Sam said, not even bothering to hide his frustration.

Castiel kept his eyes on the couple as they went inside the house. “These types of gods… they’re not more powerful than angels, per se. I’d say we’re evenly matched, to some extent. Of course, there are exceptions…”

“Is Kulchibboku an exception?” Sam asked.

“I’m afraid we won’t know until we try.”

“We might know sooner than you think… they’re coming back out,” Dean said, pointing at Dr. Brown and the girl running back to the car. The maid must have told them about the FBI agents that came to ask questions.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Dean drove the Impala to stop behind the botanist’s car, blocking the driveway. He was about to get out, his hand on the handle, when the sedan drove forth only to violently back up into them.

“Dean!” Castiel yelled when the shock threw the hunter onto Sam, smashing him against the passenger door. He himself tumbled to his side, his head hitting the window crank. He sat back up to find the left side of the car kind of bent inward.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean growled when he got off his brother and saw the damage. “I had no intention of killing the doc, but now he’s hurt my Baby! He’s fucking dead!”

He winced at the clattering and hissing noises the Impala made when he started her up again, patting the dashboard gently when she responded to being put in reverse so they could turn back around and follow where the doctor had driven off.

The sedan had already disappeared, but there weren’t many directions it could have gone. Until Dean reached the main intersection; if he turned right, they’d be driving inland, while an arrow pointing to the left indicated the way to a marina.

“What do you guys think?” Dean asked, not sure which way to go.

“If I had a boat, that’s where I’d be going.”

“Agreed,” Dean said as he turned left, following the instructions to reach the marina.

It took a bit of time to find the botanist’s car, seeing as there was more than one marina. It didn’t take long for Dean to get discouraged, starting to believe they had made the wrong choice. Until Castiel spotted the vehicle parked somewhere in the shadows, near the dock’s entry at the fourth marina they encountered.

“The car’s over there,” he said, Sam turning his head to look.

“Let’s hope the parking number coincides to the dock number,” Sam said before opening the door, prompting Dean to pump the brakes. It didn’t matter that the car hadn’t been going fast, the three men still jerked forward.

“Jesus Christ, Sam!” he yelled when his brother jumped out to start running toward the docks. “Go with him, Cas… I’ll park the car and join you.”

Castiel obeyed, opening his own door to run after the hunter. When he caught up to him, Sam was catching his breath, watching a small yacht sailing away. While Dr. Brown steered the boat, Kulchibboku stood on the deck, their gaze hot as lava at it washed over Castiel.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean yelled once more as he came to halt next to his brother. “What the hell are you waiting for? We’re gonna lose ‘em!”

“It’s a boat, Dean. Unless you can make the Impala float, we can’t—”

“Dammit, Sammy… if you can hotwire a car, you can hotwire a fucking boat,” Dean groused as he walked over the closest yacht and jumped on the deck. “You take care of the cables, I’ll go start it up.”

While Dean kicked the door of the cabin open, Castiel and Sam untied the ropes keeping the boat secure. The engine came alive right when they were jumping on board.

“Hold onto your hats, mateys! We’re off to sea!”

And, well… Dean may have been pretty enthusiastic about playing captain, he clearly didn’t know more about boats than the other two did, stalling the engine when he gave it too much gas.

“Need help?” Sam yelled, half-amused to see his brother struggling to start it up again.

“Shut the fuck up! I can do this!” Dean yelled back, letting out a victory cry when the engine started up again. He turned an overly satisfied smile on his brother before trying to leave the dock once more, ever so gently.

Once far enough, Dean threw his brother the binoculars he’d found in the cabin. “I can’t see their boat anymore,” he said. “I need you to tell me where they’ve gone.”

With a nod, Sam complied, using the device to look in the direction he’d seen the boat disappear to. “Gotta turn a bit to the left, Dean!”

“How much?”

“How the hell should I know? Hmm… ten-ish if the front of the boat is noon? They’re pretty fast, too. Better speed things up.”

“Gotcha!”

While Dean maneuvered the boat, Sam kept looking through the binoculars, making sure they were right behind their target.

“Sam?” Castiel said right behind him.

“Yeah?” he responded without diverting from his task.

“I’m not feeling so well. I think I’m gonna be—”

Before Sam could say or do anything, he heard Castiel make retching noises. He turned around to see the angel bent over, a puddle of sick at his feet.

“Crap!” he said, holding a hand on the back of his friend’s neck to steer him toward the railing. “It’s okay, not everyone’s got sea legs. Just… if you gotta throw up again, do it overboard, okay?”

Castiel lifted a humid gaze at Sam, his face drained of all color. “But—but I’m an—”

He couldn’t finish his thought, leaning over the railing to let go of his lunch in loud noises. His lips pursed in disgust, Sam still lowered his hand to the angel’s back to try and offer comfort.

“Hey! What’s goin’ on over there? Are you guys okay?” Dean yelled, keeping his eyes on the boat up ahead.

Taking this as an opportunity to avoid the sight and smell of the angel’s puke, Sam joined his brother in the cabin.

“Cas can’t handle being on a boat,” he said. “How are we doing? You think we’ll catch up to them before they reach the ocean?”

“You can fucking bet your ass we will,” Dean said as he pushed the gas handle further, making the engine rumble and the yacht speed up. “Just make sure that Cas can fight when we do.”

Sam nodded, spotting a mini fridge near his brother. He opened it to find a couple of water bottles. He took one for Cas who wasn’t vomiting anymore, instead hiding his face in the arms he had crossed on the railing.

“Doing better?” Sam asked with a soft clap on the angel’s shoulder. Castiel’s answer was nothing more than a whiny groan, making the hunter chuckle. When Castiel lifted his head to glare at him, Sam dangled the bottle in his face.

“Thanks,” he said, taking the bottle and uncapping it.

“You think you’ll be okay to take them on? We’re almost there.”

“I will,” Castiel assured him after rinsing his mouth, then spitting overboard. Sam thought the angel would be sick again when he gagged and let out a loud burp. He didn’t, instead closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. “I’m okay,” he said after a while, and just in time too.

“Guys, get ready! I’m almost there,” they heard Dean say before noticing they were indeed approaching the doctor’s yacht full force.

“Dean! You gotta slow down, you can’t brake on water!” Sam warned him.

“That fucker busted my car, I’m busting his fucking boat! Grab onto something, we’re accosting in five, four, three, two—”

The last digit got lost in the racket of the yachts colliding. Having made sure to fasten his seatbelt, Dean was able to stay put while everyone else, on both boats, was sent tumbling down. Not losing any time, he unfastened his belt and went to throw the anchor on the other boat, efficiently locking them together.

What he hadn’t expected was to see Kulchibboku leap from the doc’s boat onto theirs, with little to no effort. They now stood facing the three men, their flowy dress rustling in the wind.

“Stay the fuck away!” Dean yelled, pointing his gun at the god who threw their head back in laughter.

“You can’t kill me; I’m a god.”

“Ah yeah? Well, this guy’s an angel,” he replied, cocking his head toward Castiel.

“Not so much anymore, no,” Kulchibboku snarled, taking a step forward. They barely flinched when Dean pulled the trigger to lodge a bullet it their chest, taking another step forward.

“You can shoot me all you want, I’ll still be feeding on you in a little over twenty-four hours. Are you sure you wanna waste your last day ruining my clothes?” Kulchibboku took another step, prompting Sam and Castiel to get closer to Dean. As if it had been rehearsed, the three men produced the angel blades they’d been hiding.

The deity seemed to hesitate, but only for a second. They moved into an attack position, ready to fend the hunters off. The three men were about to charge when they heard someone scream.

“Stop!”

Dr. Brown had come out of the other yacht’s cabin, a bleeding gash on his temple. He held onto the railing with one hand.

“Don’t kill her!” he pleaded in a trembling voice.

“She’s a monster,” Sam said, his weapon drawn forward. “If we let her live, my brother and my friend are gonna die. Just like all those other folks that didn’t deserve it. We can’t let her keep doing this.”

“I won’t let you,” the botanist said as he raised the gun he’d been hiding in his back, aiming it at Sam’s head. “If any of you takes another step, I’m pulling the trigger. Don’t test me, I’m a great shot. Aren’t I, Raffie?”

“You’re the best, daddy!” Kulchibboku responded with a smirk. “Now… why don’t you guys throw your shiny toothpicks to the floor and take a step back?”

After glancing at one another, the men obeyed, not ready to risk Sam getting shot in the head. Kulchibboku – or Raffie, according to Dr. Brown – came closer to them, kicking the blades to the side as she did. Once close enough, she smiled before making a kissy face.

Dean pursed his lips, making sure to catch the monster’s gaze. “You can keep your kisses to yourself, dude, I’m not—”

Rather than trying to land one on him, she blew a putrid mist at their faces. The three men gagged, the smell of rotting flesh invading their airways.

All went black.

Waking up and being incapacitated wasn’t something new for Sam. He groaned as he tried to move his limbs, soon giving up when he felt the thick hemp cord start digging into his skin.

Once able to focus on his surroundings, he could only suppose he was in some kind of broom closet. The only light came from the moon beam shining through the small porthole higher up, telling him he had to be on either one of the two boats, most probably the doctor’s.

“Help! Dean! Cas!” he screamed, not that he thought he’d get an answer. He could only hope they were close enough to hear him. As he listened carefully for some kind of response, he looked around to try and find anything he could use to free himself.

Someone unlocked the door and opened it before he could find anything suitable.

“Brown!” Sam said when he saw the older man stand in the door frame.

He nodded, some kind of apologetic look on his face. “I’m very sorry, it shouldn’t have gone down this way,” he said as he crouched in front of Sam, showing him a water bottle. “You thirsty?”

Tempted to spit in the man’s face, Sam had to admit that his mouth was way too dry to even try. Instead, he nodded, leaning forward to accept the gift. The man approached Sam, tipping the bottle between his lips.

In hindsight, Sam could have waited until he’d gotten a couple of sips in before trying to knock the man off his feet by flinging himself forward. He successfully knocked their heads together, making the man fall back and the bottle roll away as it emptied itself. Except Dr. Brown still had some fight in him and was able to crawl out of the room and lock the door behind him.

“I was debating if I should be helping you or not… you made the decision for me, so thank you,” the doctor spat through the door. “I wish you the best of luck getting back to shore alive.”

“Where’s my brother?” Sam yelled, not caring about anything else the man had to say. “And where’s Cas? What did you do to them?”

“Don’t worry about the lovebirds. They’ll be fulfilling their destinies soon enough. Just be glad I was able to convince Raffie not to feed you to the sharks.”

“You’ll regret not killing me if my brother dies, man!”

“I’m starting to think so, yes… still, I’m taking the chance in the hopes that you will remember my clemency.”

Sam heard the doctor walking away, then some more noises he couldn’t be sure what they were. Until he recognized the sound of a boat engine revving up, getting further and further away. He let out an enraged cry, if only to get rid of the anger plaguing his mind. He needed to focus by doing something more useful.

He looked around again, not seeing much apart from a mop in a bucket and a gallon of borax. Had it been bleach, he could have tried to burn the ropes – and his skin in the process, not that it really mattered.

He huffed, knowing he’d have to get to his feet. It wasn’t the first time he’d found himself in this situation, so he started to squirm and roll around – even with the closet being on the smaller side – until he was able to stand on his own two feet. He was sweaty and short of breath, but he stood upright and would be able to see if there was anything of use on the upper shelves.

With nothing more than toilet paper and more cleaning products on the first metal shelf unit, Sam hopped to the second one. It contained nothing better for him to use. He was about to drop back to the floor when he noticed a glint in the corner of his eye. The moon, especially bright that night, had caught onto a protruding screw.

Blowing the hair from his face, Sam backed up on the shelf unit to try and slice the cord on the screw. It didn’t take long, the hunter exhaling in relief when he could rip the rope apart and rub the life back into his freed wrists. He made a quick job of freeing his ankles before using the lockpick he kept hidden in his boot to unlock the door.

The short hall was dark, with stairs to the upper deck on one end and two closed doors on the other. He was about to take the stairs when he heard a series of low hums and grunts coming from beyond one of the doors. He knew what those sounds meant, but something still made Sam go and put his ear to one of them.

When he heard nothing, he did the same on the other one; there were people on the other side, clearly having sex. He swallowed, hating the fact that he could tell who the grunts and moans belonged to; he’d been subjected to them – by accident, of course – more than once in his lifetime.

Sam took a deep breath, preparing himself for the scarring images he no doubt would be subjected to the second he opened that door.


	9. TUESDAY AM

It didn’t matter that Dean knew something wasn’t right, he just couldn’t find it in himself to care. All he could focus on was the weight and warmth surrounding him. For nothing in the world did he wish to leave the sanctity of whatever the hell was happening.

“Dean,” Castiel said against the hunter’s cheek, the dry lips catching onto his stubble.

Instead of speaking, Dean used his hands to answer, the fingertips leaving traces like words all over Castiel’s spine, all the way down to his ass. He didn’t even say a word when he found himself being manhandled to lie on his back with Castiel straddling him, crotch to crotch.

He bit his lower lip at the sight of the angel’s hard dick resting against his own. He forced himself to look up and meet the blue eyes before canting his hips upward, once, making their dicks slide against one another, pleasure buzzing underneath his skin.

Castiel huffed and moaned as he leaned forward, his hands on either side of Dean’s head. His now dark gaze caught onto Dean’s and he never looked away, rocking his sex against the hunter’s.

Soon seeing stars, Dean let himself be rutted against, a single thought swimming around in his mind; _Cas, Cas, Cas, Cas_ … he couldn’t remember ever having it this good, and he somehow knew he never would again. This here, that was it. Whatever he hadn’t been looking for, he had found it, and it was in the form of an angel wearing a stupid trench coat.

That very same angel – sans trench coat or anything else – who was busy sucking a bruise on the pulse point of his neck. Needing more, way more, Dean cradled Castiel’s face to pull him up and connect their mouths together. He moaned at the taste and smell of his angel; a mix of sweat, sex, and something floral he wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint.

He let out another breathy moan when Castiel stopped rutting against him to wrap a hand around both their lengths. “F—fuck…” he let out, surprised by the unbridled pace of Castiel’s strong hand on him. All he could do was hold onto the angel’s hips, scared he’d be drowning if he ever let go.

As warmth filled his lower abdomen, it felt as if Castiel had sprouted extra hands. He bristled and hissed at those new fingers pressing on his shoulder, biting at his lower lip again so he wouldn’t start weeping. The pressure on his shoulder soon disappeared, only to be replaced by a sudden blow to the face.

Being dipped in an icy bath wouldn’t have been more shocking; he inhaled sharply, the softness and warmth he’d been basking into morphing into coldness and sharp lines.

He opened his eyes.

When Sam opened the door, he tried to ignore the loud grunts and moans. He knew he couldn’t waste a single minute, but he also knew he didn’t want to see what was going on. Of course, he’d seen a bit of the same thing, from afar, in a crowded nightclub, but… this was different. He wasn’t horny as hell and under the thrall of Kulchibboku.

He took a deep breath and opened one eye, spreading his fingers over his face ever so slightly. And although not delighted by the sight of the two naked men humping each other – men he knew and didn’t want to see naked anymore than he already had – he was relieved to find that they were alone.

“Dean! Cas!” Sam said, hoping calling their names while keeping his eyes averted would be enough. When it wasn’t, he took a step forward, calling their names again. They didn’t acknowledge him, nothing seemingly able to burst their sex bubble.

As he put his hand on his brother’s sweaty shoulder, Sam couldn’t help but wince. Walking on your brother having sex shouldn’t have to be this way. He should have been able to just yelp and run the other way while praying to be made blind and deaf.

Except he couldn’t and instead had to try and shake his brother out of his daze.

When that didn’t work either, all he could think of was to punch him hard enough that he’d have no choice but to wake up. Actually, he did it twice; once for Cas, once for Dean.

As his fist connected with the angel’s jaw, Sam could only be thankful his grace had been muted. It still hurt a whole lot, but it didn’t make it impossible for him to do the same thing to his brother afterward.

“What the hell?” Dean asked when he saw his brother standing over him. He brought a hand to his face, hissing when it hurt. “Did you just punch me in the face? What the hell’s wrong with you?” He blinked and looked around, his eyes catching onto the naked angel holding his own jaw. “Cas? What’s going’ on? Where the fuck are we? Where’s my clothes?”

“Dean… calm down, would you? Forget about your clothes for now. We have to go after the doc and Kulchibboku. We gotta kill her before she eats you.”

“And how do you want us to do this? Unless you’re hiding an angel blade up your—”

Castiel’s hand landed on Dean’s mouth. “Shut up,” the angel said, locking their eyes together. If Dean’s erection had been dwindling, it kind of perked up at the angel’s resolute expression, all too reminiscent of that time in the green room. Like he’d done then, Dean nodded, a silent promise to keep quiet.

“Pretty sure they left us here alone,” Sam said in a low voice, his ear against the door. “I could be wrong, though.” After listening carefully, he turned to them and nodded, opening the door by nothing more than an inch; the hall was still empty. With a finger over his lips, Sam crossed the hall and tried the other door. It was locked.

“Up,” he mouthed next, pointing to the moonlit stairs. He started ascending them, almost bent in half so he wouldn’t hit his head. He stopped when he reached the handle and glanced at the others standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Three, two, one,” he mouthed again before barging through the door.

The three men ran on the upper deck to find that they were indeed alone, in the middle of nowhere. All they could see were dark blue skies with the moon and stars reflecting on the even darker sea.

“Where the fuck are they?” Dean breathed. “Scratch that! Where the fuck are we?”

“And where’s the other boat?” Castiel provided.

“They left with it, no doubt,” Sam said as he went to see where Dean had crashed their boat. “Hmm… guys… looks like we’re leaking fuel.”

“Fuck!” Dean said when he came to the same conclusion, the moonlight making rainbows swirl around the boat. “Maybe it’s not empty just yet.”

Dean marched toward the upper cabin to try and start the engine. He came back after less than a minute, his face pinched in frustration. “It’s all gone,” he announced, swiping a hand over his face. “Those fuckers knew we wouldn’t be able to get back.”

Sam sighed, having to agree with his brother. Didn’t matter where Dean and Cas ended up, Raffie would be getting her tribute in about sixteen hours. If they couldn’t find a way to get back to— “Hey! There has to be a lifeboat on this thing, right?”

While Sam ran below deck, Dean stood in front of Castiel, doing his best to avert his eyes from the angel’s naked body.

“I saw a radio in there,” he said after a while, pointing his thumb at the cabin. “Might as well try and reach out.”

Castiel nodded, watching Dean as he turned on his heels and went back in the cabin, unable to keep his eyes from diverting to the hunter’s behind. He sighed when Dean disappeared behind the door, once more at a loss as to what he could do to help. Until he felt his stomach lurch the same way it did earlier. He just had time to run and bend over the railing to vomit again, the bile burning his throat.

He didn’t turn around when he heard clattering noises behind him, choosing to keep his eyes on the horizon in the hopes that it would help stabilize his insides.

“Found a lifeboat and paddles,” he heard Sam say from behind him. “Hey, Cas! You okay?” Sam’s hand landed on his back, stroking circles as he had done earlier. “Also found your clothes… it’s kinda chilly, you better put them on.”

Castiel’s jeans and t-shirt were dropped on his shoulder, the fabric feeling nice against his skin. When he felt stable enough, he let go of the railing to get dressed. He was lowering the t-shirt over his head when Dean came out, also back in his own clothes.

“Were you able to reach anyone?” he asked the hunter, who shook his head.

“They messed with the radio, probably threw parts overboard. Can’t use it.” Dean came closer to brush a hand over the angel’s arm. “You okay? Sam said you were sick again?”

“I’ll be fine,” Castiel responded, draping his hand over Dean’s. “It might help when we get on the lifeboat and start rowing.”

“I hate that idea, Cas. We don’t even know which way to go.”

Castiel smiled. “My powers may be dulled down, but I’m still an angel.” He looked up to the night sky and squinted before pointing somewhere in the distance. “If we go that way, we’ll reach Marco Island… we’re pretty much in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.”

“How long will it take?”

The angel turned to consider the yellow box and oars Sam had found. “I really can’t say,” he admitted. “Too many factors are at play.”

“We might not have to do that after all,” Sam said, coming out of the cabin. He showed off a flare gun and ammunitions he’d found. “If we’re lucky, someone will see this,” he added as he prepared to shoot, holding the gun high over his head.

They may have been used to firearms, the three men couldn’t help being awed by the flare as it shot upward, illuminating the sky and sea around them. It soon dimmed out, letting the moon and stars be the sole luminosity again.

“Maybe we should try and find something to be more visible and shit,” Dean suggested, seeing how the powerless boat didn’t really stand out in the night. “If I had to choose, I’d probably get on the raft and light the shit out of that boat.”

“Bad idea,” Sam countered. “You can’t tie yourself to a burning boat, which means you’re likely to drift away from it. Either way, you’re screwed.”

“You’re the one that’s screwed,” Dean said, petulant. “My idea’s awesome.”

“No, it’s not, Dean. Sam is right,” Castiel said without looking at him. “Where did you find the raft?” he then asked Sam, ready to go back downstairs and look for anything that could help.

“In the kind of kitchenette thing, behind that other door that was locked. I didn’t check everywhere, there might be something else in there.” Sam dug in his front pocket before throwing the angel a box of matches. “Found those. It’s pretty dark downstairs, they may help.”

Castiel nodded before ducking to descend below deck.

“Cas says Florida’s that way,” Dean said, although a bit unsure he was pointing in the right direction. “He can read the stars and stuff.”

“Makes sense…”

Sam cleared his throat, coming to stand closer to his brother. “So… what’s our story if we get rescued? That boat’s not ours, and if it’s the coast guards that get to us, we might be in trouble.”

“We could say we were drugged and woke up here.”

“Three six foot plus men, drugged and kidnapped by an old man and a small lady? You really think they’ll go for it?”

“They could have had help.”

Sam groaned, crossing his arms over his chest. He started pacing, keeping his gaze on the expanse of water in the hopes he’d see a boat coming to them. As he did, he could feel his frustration growing until he couldn’t hold his tongue anymore.

“You know this is all your fault, right?” he spat, making sure to be looking right at Dean. “You had to decide you wanted to ogle bikini babes rather than working. Then you had to come to the club. You’re the reason we’re in that mess.”

“Fuck you, Sam! I thought I’d found a case, and I did. You admitted it yourself, remember?”

“I don’t care that you were right, Dean. All I can think of now is how we’re stranded on a damn boat and that if we don’t find that monster in the next fifteen hours, you and Cas are dead.” He took a step closer to his brother, not caring that he seemed right about to jump him. “I’m gonna be left alone again and you don’t even seem to care! Pretty sure you won’t be coming back this time.”

Sam’s voice broke at the end. He swallowed, fighting against the tears stinging his eyes.

“You could always go back to that girl and her dog,” Dean said, only half serious. He very well knew that ship had sailed already… ha!

“I made my choice, Dean. I chose you and this life over her.” Sam sighed, shifting his gaze toward the horizon again. “And then you go and do that shit and—”

“Didn’t find candles, but I found this,” Castiel said as he came back on deck, cutting off Sam’s tirade, oblivious to the shift in the atmosphere. He walked to the brothers, showing them two flashlights and a pack of batteries. “These should help, right?”

Dean smiled and clapped a hand on the angel’s back. “That’s perfect! Let’s turn on these puppies and twirl them like we’re in a rave.”

While Dean grabbed one of the flashlights and did just that, Castiel squinted at Sam. “What’s a rave?”

“Some party dance thing, don’t worry about it,” he answered while Castiel turned his flashlight on and started following Dean’s example. While they did this, Sam fired another flare, hoping someone would see this one.

Castiel and Dean worked on their light show for another hour, until the sun started peaking over the water. If the moderate chill had made the night comfortable, it wouldn’t be as nice once the sun got up high.

“I think we should start paddling,” Sam said after weighing their options – not that they had a lot. He’d fired two flares and nobody had come to see what could be going on. Not even the coast guard. “We’ll bring all the water and the flare gun, and we’ll try to hit the coast as quickly as we can. Before it gets too hot.” He turned to Castiel. “You say you know where we are… you think you’ll be able to point the way back?”

“It’s easier when I can see the stars,” the angel said, his gaze upward. “We’re a bit further out than before, but I should be able to show the way. I’ll use the sun as a guide.”

There were no more discussions. The angel amassed all they could use while the brothers worked together to figure out how to pop the raft open. It ended with Dean throwing it in the water while Sam held the cord, efficiently starting the auto-inflating mechanism.

“We’re gonna have to jump,” Sam announced as the raft rapidly took form. “And not in the water, there’s probably sharks around here.”

“Now you worry about sharks?” Dean groused. “And you’re sure we won’t break the thing when we jump, right?”

“Nah… it should hold fine. That’s what it’s for, after all,” Sam reassured him as he climbed over the rail. “It’s not that high anyway. Throw me the oars once I’m down, okay?”

“Okay. Cas! We’re ready to go! Come on!” Dean yelled right as the angel came back up, holding a canvas bag over his chest. “Water?” he asked.

“Water, sodas, granola bars, saltines,” he listed as he grabbed the flare gun and ammunition, “and the flare gun.”

“Perfect, gimme.” Dean took the bag to hold it over the railing.

“Dean! Throw the oars first, I’m drifting away,” Sam yelled, the raft already too far for either Dean or Cas to jump directly on it. He flung them, one at a time, his heart skipping a beat when the second one almost ended up in the water instead.

Seeing the hunter having trouble steering the raft by himself, Castiel climbed over the railing and jumped before Dean could stop him.

“Cas!”

For a moment – one that felt like an eternity – the angel disappeared below the surface. Dean only realized he had stopped breathing when Castiel resurfaced to hold onto the raft, taking a deep breath as the angel did the same.

“Cas, you fucking idiot! There’s sharks down there,” Dean yelled, tempted to open the bag and start throwing whatever he’d find at his head. He didn’t, of course, instead settling for smacking him over the head the second he’d join him on the raft.

“Your turn, Dean… throw the bag, then jump,” Sam yelled after they’d successfully maneuvered the raft closer.

Less than a minute later, Dean landed on the soft surface, almost making the raft capsize. It didn’t, but the strong rocking motion prompted Castiel to start throwing up again.

“Sorry, buddy,” Dean said, putting a warm hand on the back of his neck, all thoughts of hitting him evaporated. He took the oar and started rowing, in time with his brother. “So… we’re going the right way, right?” he asked Sam, who shrugged.

“A little—left—” Castiel was able to say before dry heaving again. Once done, he hid his face in the crook of one arm while pointing somewhere in the distance with the other.

The brothers paddled as hard as they could, making sure to keep going where the angel pointed. And as they did, Dean had to avert his eyes from the angel as much as possible. He may have been sick, but he was also drenched, the thin cotton of his t-shirt clinging to his muscular upper body and making Dean all sort of hot in the pants.

Water filled his mouth, enough to almost choke on it. Instead he swallowed and licked his lips, forcing himself to focus his energies elsewhere; like rowing, for example.

After close to two hours, the brothers had to stop.

“I can’t anymore,” Dean said, his arms feeling as if they’d been filled with lead.

“We can’t be that far,” Sam offered, hoping Castiel would confirm it.

“It appears I had underestimated the distance,” the angel said instead, “or overestimated your rowing capacities.”

“Ah yeah? I don’t see you trying,” Dean said between gulps of water. He’d been tempted to grab a soda, but he was too damn thirsty. He flung a granola bar at his brother before taking one for himself. For Castiel, he took the box of crackers. “You should eat a bit.”

“I’ll just throw up again.”

“That’s what saltines are for, man. They’ll help.”

Although reluctant, the angel complied, fishing a cracker from the box. He sniffed it, scrunching his nose when he noticed it didn’t smell like much. He bit off a tiny corner piece, pouting as he chewed with his front teeth before swallowing.

“It tastes like nothing,” he said, holding the saltine between two fingers as if it were the most disgusting thing on the planet.

Dean chuckled. “That’s the whole point, Cas. Now stop being a baby and eat your cracker. Have some water too,” he added, throwing a bottle at the angel’s feet.

“Heads up,” Sam said before firing the flare gun again. “It was our last one,” he added, putting the gun back in the bag.

“Can’t believe nobody’s found us yet,” Dean said, looking around to see there was still no land in sight. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think we’re in the middle of the damn ocean.”

“We’re not,” Castiel said, having nibbled half of his cracker already. “But if you don’t start rowing soon, we’ll just keep on drifting away from our goal.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem, Cas.”

Castiel tilted his head, squinting at Sam. “Why is that?”

As sole response, Sam grinned and pointed behind Castiel who turned around to see a boat fast approaching.

“It’s the coast guard,” Dean said, recognizing the red surf boat. “I hope it’s the American one… so, what do we say? Drugged and abandoned at sea?”

Sam shook his head. “What if they don’t believe us?”

A crooked smile on his lips, Dean nodded, his gaze catching onto Castiel’s.

“Then we knock the hell out of them and hope we get back to shore before they wake up.”


	10. TUESDAY PM

Knocking out the guards could have been avoided if only they had stopped prying and accepted the explanation Dean had given them. Instead, they had kept on pushing, getting more and more suspicious while the hunters tried to explain how they had found themselves in that situation.

With Dean now manning the boat, Castiel and Sam finished tying the two men up, making sure they were comfortable enough – they didn’t deserve to be hurt, but they couldn’t let them get in their way either.

The boat was so powerful that they’d no doubt be back at Marco Island within thirty minutes, if not less. Except they certainly couldn’t go to the marina, not in broad daylight anyway.

“But Baby’s at the marina. Alone. With weapons,” Dean had countered when Sam brought up the idea that they should go and dock near the doctor’s house instead. “And the doc doesn’t even have a dock…”

“Doesn’t matter, there’s a thousand other docks around. You’ll find a way, I’m sure.”

“What if they’re not there? Then what?”

Sam had shrugged, leaving his brother to control the boat and join Castiel outside where he stood against the wind. He didn’t seem to be bothered by the water spraying on his face as they sped forward.

“Never have I been happier to see human civilization,” Castiel said when the coastline appeared in the distance, screaming to be heard over the wind and engine. “I can’t wait for my grace to be at full power again… don’t think I could deal much longer with Jimmy’s weaknesses.”

He turned to Sam, giving him an earnest look. “Of all the bodily functions, vomiting has to be the absolute worst.”

Rather than answering, Sam smiled and wrapped a steadying arm around the angel’s shoulders. “What are you gonna do about Dean?” he asked after a while. The angel looked at him again, now with a somewhat quizzical gaze, but Sam suspected the angel might be faking it. “Don’t make me say it, Cas… you said it yourself, if your grace hadn’t been tampered with, you wouldn’t have—”

“I know, and I don’t think it’s something I can ever control.” He exhaled, glancing at Dean only for a fraction of a second. “You know I’ll always be very fond of your brother, we do have that special bond, but… being physical…” Castiel shook his head, unable to find the words to express how he felt.

 _Feelings are yet another dreadful bodily function_ , he almost said out loud, stopping himself just in time because half of that statement was an absolute lie; some sensations had been quite delightful and he wondered if he’d miss them. Sam speaking again pulled Castiel out of his own mind.

“It’s just… Dean’s not like you. He doesn’t have an off button. Whatever he’s feeling, it’s there to stay.”

“When we get rid of Kulchibboku, these desires will be a distant memory in no time.” It didn’t matter that for Castiel, those memories would never go away or wither… angels weren’t made to forget.

“I wouldn’t bet on that, Cas. I think they’ve been there for a while already. That’s why you’ll have to talk to him at some point. Don’t just disappear the second you get your wings back and stay away, you know? It’ll break his heart.”

“I won’t,” the angel agreed, looking forward again.

They braced themselves, the boat decelerating as it neared the canal. Rather than entering the waterways, Dean steered to the right. He had decided to follow Sam’s suggestion and was heading for Dr. Brown’s house.

When it came into view, recognizable by the glass dome on the roof, the boat was approaching far too fast – Dean really seemed to have a hard time understanding how boats worked. Sam instructed Castiel to hang onto the railing as they waited for the inevitable shock of hitting the shore. Once the boat couldn’t go any further, Dean rushed out of the cabin, holding the guards’ machine guns.

He threw one at Sam before jumping over the railing to land on the rugged terrain and started running toward the house. Sam and Castiel followed suit, catching up to Dean as he reached the patio. They stopped before the wall of windows separating the kitchen from the outside, not about to jump face first into what had to be very thick glass.

On the other side, the maid stood there with her mouth agape and her eyes bugged out, hugging a glass pitcher against her chest. Slowly, Dean lowered his weapon to grab the handle and slide the door open. The woman screamed as the empty pitcher crashed onto the floor.

“Don’t worry, we’re not gonna hurt you,” Sam said in a calming voice, his hands up in a placating gesture as he walked in behind Dean. “Where’s the doctor?”

Trembling, the maid shook her head, her own arms up in the air.

“He’s not here?” Castiel asked as he came into view, holding the machine gun Sam had given him. The maid’s gaze shifted to him then back at Sam, to finally settle on the weapon. Dean had already disappeared inside the house, leaving the other two alone to deal with the woman.

“Away—away on his boat,” she croaked as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Dean opened the kitchen at the same moment. “The car’s in the driveway.” He gave Castiel a pointed look before disappearing again.

“Go with him,” Sam said. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

The angel nodded and followed Dean through the door while Sam softly grabbed the shivering woman by the arm. He guided her to sit at the breakfast bar before getting her a glass of water.

“I’m sorry we scared you. I swear, we only need Raffie and the doc, okay?”

The woman nodded as she accepted the glass and took a sip. “What did they do?” she asked, keeping her owlish gaze on the hunter.

“I’m sorry, I’m not at liberty to say,” he explained, hoping she remembered they had introduced themselves as FBI agents the day before. She must have because she didn’t question him anymore, staying put while they could hear Dean and Castiel moving around the house, opening and closing doors.

Until a new noise could be heard outside; sounded a lot like a chopper.

“Shit!” Sam let out as ran to look outside. It was indeed a chopper, and not a generic one either. The coast guard was coming for their boat and men.

Sam turned back around. “You gotta know where they’re hiding! Just tell me and we’ll be out of your hair.”

The maid gave him a trembling nod and pointed to a door next to the fridge, then at the ceiling.

“Can’t find them, but I did find the doc’s gun collection,” Dean said as he and Castiel came back, both holding a rifle rather than the machine guns from earlier. “Is that a chopper?”

“The coast guard… they found their boat,” Sam confirmed, accepting the handgun Dean had snagged for him. “She says the doc and Raffie are upstairs,” he added, trying to open the door the maid had pointed to, without success.

“Get back,” Dean said, aiming the rifle at the handle, shooting twice.

The lock exploded, letting the door fall open. The men ascended the stairs, Dean opening the march with his gun drawn up high. They reached another door, this one made of steel and also locked.

“Guns won’t work on this,” Dean muttered, patting his jeans only to find his lockpick had disappeared. “Open the door!” he yelled, banging his fist on the metallic barrier. He got pushed aside by Sam who had his own lockpick in hand.

As Sam worked, they could hear the chopper getting closer. It wouldn’t take long for the cops to find out which house they had disappeared into. Especially with the maid alone downstairs and probably trying to flag them to the house.

“We shouldn’t have left the lady alone downstairs,” Dean said under his breath. “You done, Sam?”

“Almost… and… done!”

They rushed through the door, locking it again behind them – if they were lucky, the cops would think they had hostages and wouldn’t try to get in. And only then did they fully realise it might have been a mistake to rush upstairs unprepared; they didn’t have angels swords anymore, and there was no way a simple gunshot would kill a god.

The room they had entered was actually some kind of greenhouse; they couldn’t even see the sky beyond the green of the plants. The air felt warm, and humid, and once more they found themselves gagging at that damn putrid smell.

The doctor and Raffie were sitting together on a porch swing, seemingly unimpressed by the three men barging in.

“I really wish you would have chosen to enjoy the little time you have left, boys,” Raffie said, the doctor massaging the feet she rested on his lap. “Plus, it’d make for a more filling meal.”

For the first time, Dean saw the appendage peaking from under the god’s skirt. He couldn’t help but wince at the sight of it; Castiel may have called it a tail, it really did look more like a dick… and a big one, too. He swallowed with a click as he remembered how Cas said he had his mouth on that thing and how it’d been in his ass.

“Like what you see?” the god said, wagging the thing softly. Dean looked up, for once really able to look Kulchibboku in the face. It might have chosen to dress and do its hair in a feminine way, but the evident lack of boobs and sharp features were enough to kill the illusion for him. Just like he knew it wouldn’t have worked either if the god had chosen to look like a guy.

Not that it mattered; Dean still felt his dick jerk in his pants. Which had to be why it took some time for Dean to find his voice again.

“Fuck you!”

“No, thank you. I’d rather watch,” Raffie said, her gaze hot on him and Castiel.

He almost choke on his tongue when he felt the angel come to stand behind him to wrap his arms around his waist. “Cas…” he said in a rasp, trying to keep his brain from going offline. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the chopper and police sirens outside.

“We can’t do this,” he said before turning around to catch the angel’s mouth with his, the hands he used to disrobe the angel not feeling like his anymore.

“Make her stop,” Sam yelled, his handgun pointed at the doctor’s head.

He took a sharp intake of breath, making a point not to pay attention to the couple getting it on beside him. He then shifted his gaze to Raffie. “I’m even willing to let you live and never bother you again if you’ll just pick someone else. Let them live.”

“That’s not how it works,” she said with a shrug. “It’s too late, even I can’t stop the process.”

“I won’t accept that. Doc, help me out, would you? Your little girlfriend here’s a murderer, don’t you get that?”

When the older man lifted his eyes to meet the hunter’s, Sam could have sworn he saw flickers of fear and sadness in the otherwise resolute gaze. “When you eat a steak, do you consider yourself a murderer? Or are you just a hungry man that has to eat?”

“It’s not the same.”

“Of course, it is. The meat that’s on your plate, it was alive once.” He pointed at Dean and Castiel already naked and lying on the floor together. “It’s the same thing with them. Raffie’s hungry, they’ll have to die.”

He started stroking the god’s leg delicately. “And not that it’s any of your business, but Raffie’s not my girlfriend,” he said, his mouth a disgusted pout around that last word. “She’s my child… I made her.”

“The rafflesia…” Sam said under his breath. He glanced around, seeing nothing but trees and bushes; no flower.

“You can imagine my surprise when I found Raffie in the Institute one morning. She was so beautiful, sleeping next to the flower that had started to rot already. They don’t last very long, you know? Nobody else ever did this in America, having a rafflesia bloom so far from their native soil.”

Remembering what Kulchibboku would offer her worshippers in its glory days, Sam felt the need to ask.

“What’s in it for you?”

“What do you mean?”

He waved his gun around, before aiming for the doctor’s skull again. “Kulchibboku would ensure fertility for those who worshipped it… I doubt that’s what you get out of the deal. So what is it? Fame? Money? You do seem to have a pretty cozy life for a botanist.”

“I’m not a simple botanist, young man. I’m a doctor… I have a PhD.”

“So? Can’t be enough for a house like this, a yacht, a live-in maid—”

“I made savvy investments, not that I owe you a single thing, let alone an explanation.”

“I beg to differ… you owe me a fucking lot!”

The gun Sam had been aiming at the doctor’s head slightly moved downward before a shot was fired. As a patch of red grew on the older man’s shoulder, Raffie leaped forward, knocking Sam to the floor while his gun slid away.

“I’m gonna kill you,” the god snarled in his face, her rancid breath strong enough to make the hunter’s stomach lurch. She sat on his chest, her tail circling around his neck and squeezing hard.

“Dean!” Sam tried to scream, the pressure on his throat making it sound like nothing more than a muted growl.

No matter how hard he tried to get out of her hold, or pry the tail from around his neck, Raffie didn’t budge. _I can’t win_ , Sam concluded as his eyelids fluttered and his lungs started burning. _She’s a damn god and I’m gonna die. Again._

As he believed his last moment had come, a resounding screech erupted from the monster’s mouth while the weight on Sam’s chest and throat disappeared. Didn’t matter that the air smelled like putrefaction and ashes, Sam still took a deep breath, relishing in the oxygen filling his chest again.

“Are you okay?”

The hunter opened his eyes to see the doctor towering over him, holding an angel blade. He sat up and looked around; Raffie was nowhere to be seen and he was covered in wet soot. As for Dean and Cas, they were now sitting on the floor with at least a foot between them.

“What happened?” he asked Dr. Brown, still worried the man would decide to stab him in retaliation for shooting him.

“I killed her… I killed Raffie,” the man said in a trembling voice before falling to his knees. He started weeping. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want her to kill people. I had no choice, she would have killed me if… please, forgive me. Oh god, what have I done?” he said between sobs, his voice muffled by the hands he held over his face.

While Sam and Dean weren’t so keen on pitying the guy, Castiel kneeled next to him. He took back the blade the man had dropped before putting a hand over the gunshot wound. A bright second later, Dr. Brown’s shoulder had been healed and Castiel got back to his feet.

“Where’s the flower?” Castiel asked just as loud banging noises could be heard on the other side of the metal door.

“They’re—they’re not in bloom—only a couple of buds—in the back—behind…” he said, pointing somewhere behind the wall of greens. He started sobbing again, knowing his life’s work was on the verge of being destroyed.

A short minute later, the angel was back and putting his hands on the Winchesters’ shoulders.

“We have to go.”

Dr. Brown could only gape in shock when the three men vanished into thin air.

“Are you sure you guys are gonna be okay? You’re not still set to die tonight, are you?”

Castiel nodded as he emptied the drawer in his suitcase. “Not only is Kulchibboku dead, I also vaporized the vine and buds into nothingness, just in case. What will you do with these clothes? It’s not like I’ll be needing them anymore.”

“Might as well keep them for you, in case you get tired of Jimmy’s suit and tie. Or if we need you for another undercover assignment.”

“I doubt your brother will agree to something like this ever again.”

“Did you talk to him?”

“You very well know I didn’t, Sam. I’ve only zapped us all back to Miami. Also, I don’t think you should be present when Dean and I have this conversation.”

Sam crossed his arms over his chest. “But you will, right? You promised.”

“I don’t recall making any promises, but yes, I will talk to Dean.” He turned back to the drawer to finish emptying it. “At what time do we need to leave tomorrow?”

“We can check out anytime before eleven.”

“Could we check out now?”

Sam chuckled, shaking his head. “Not a chance, Cas. I smell like a corpse, literally.”

“I did make you clean, Sam.”

“Don’t care… sometimes you just really need soap, you know? I’m gonna take a very long bath and scrub the memories of the dead god off my skin. Then I’m gonna have a nice dinner brought up and, more importantly, I’m taking advantage of the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on.”

“I understand,” Castiel said. “Would you prefer that I leave you alone, then?”

“What would you do? Go to the pool? Fly off to see Dean? Go back to Heaven?”

“Does it matter?”

“Not really, although I think that if you go back to Heaven now, we might not see you for a while. And I told you how that could be a problem for Dean.”

Castiel didn’t comment, shutting the empty drawer off before zipping up his luggage, only speaking again when everything was packed up and ready to go. “I’d rather go see your brother in the morning,” he said as he sat on the bed and grabbed the remote. “Would you like me to order dinner for you while you bathe?”

“Yeah, okay… if you want. Are you gonna be eating too?”

“I wouldn’t enjoy it, so no. But I’ll gladly sit with you, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind, Cas.”

Sam went into the bathroom, only to come back out and squint at Castiel. “Hmm… could you maybe just get me a salad or something? Not meat, just… beans, or tofu… nothing that was once alive.”

“Why not?”

Sam’s expression transformed into one of disgust. “I’ll tell you later… I just don’t think I’ll be able to stomach meat for some time.”

After Sam had disappeared in the bathroom again, Castiel took the menu from the nightstand to look over the options.

“Humans…” he scoffed, picking up the phone to order the hunter’s vegetarian dinner.


	11. WEDNESDAY… AND THEN SOME!

Used to getting up early in the morning, only being ready to check out at eight the next morning still made Sam believe he’d been on some kind of vacation after all.

“So… you’re going to see Dean, right?”

“I am. I’ll fly over to him once we’re checked out. We’ll have enough time to speak while you take a taxi back to his motel.”

“I won’t be checking out right away. I’d like to have breakfast downstairs before we go. I’ll check out afterward, but you don’t need to be there for that.” Although smiling, Sam gave Castiel a careful look. “I don’t want you to rush this thing, okay? Make sure you really explain yourself right.”

“You think he’ll listen to me?”

“Nope… you’ll have to make him listen. I know my brother and he’ll try to get out of that conversation right from the beginning. Don’t let him do it.”

Castiel hummed, his brows scrunched together. “I wouldn’t want to aggravate him, Sam. The last thing I want is for Dean to be mad at me.”

“He might be mad, yeah, but it shouldn’t last long.” Sam landed a sympathetic hand on the angel’s shoulder. “When Dean loves someone, it’s forever.”

“Dean has loved a lot of women.”

“No, Cas. He slept with a lot of women, not the same thing.”

The confusion on the angel’s face didn’t ease. “But… we slept together, too.”

“Yeah, you did. And that’s exactly why you can’t leave without talking to him.”

“Hello, Dean.”

Castiel had spoken softly, hoping the hunter wouldn’t be startled by his sudden arrival in the room; he knew how Dean hated that.

“How does it feel to be able to fly around again?” Dean asked as he packed the last of his belongings in his duffel bag. He zipped it up before turning around.

“Where’s Sam? You let him walk?”

“He wanted to have breakfast at the hotel, he’ll be joining us later,” Castiel said, presenting Dean with a plate piled high with his favorite breakfast foods and a mug of coffee. He placed everything on the table and smiled. “I thought I might as well bring you my portion. We paid for it, after all.”

“Well… someone’s payin’ for it,” Dean agreed as he came closer, sitting on a chair and patting the other one. “You gonna sit or do you have to go?”

The angel smiled and sat down, please by the hunter’s eagerness as he dove into his meal. “Man, that’s awesome,” he said around his mouthful of bacon and cheese omelet. “You sure you don’t want some? It’s real good.”

“I know, but I don’t need to eat. I’d rather let you have it.”

He observed the hunter for a little while longer, trying to determine how to approach the subject of their relationship. Dean had engulfed half the plate when Castiel finally took the plunge.

“So… we should have a chat.”

“Ah yeah? What about?”

“Us.”

The hunter shove a buttered toast in his mouth, biting off half of it. “Noffin’ to fay,” he mumbled. “We were under a fpell, we good.”

“Dean… you very well know that we weren’t. Not that whole time, anyway.”

Dean swallowed, dropping the other half of his toast on the plate. “Look, man… I get it, all right? You’re an angel, you don’t feel shit, whatever’s happened won’t happen again.” The smile he gave Castiel could have looked genuine if only it had reached his eyes. “You know me, I don’t get attached, so don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Dean—”

“I really don’t wanna talk about that crap, all right? If we do, I’ll just get mad and then we’ll—”

 

 

> _Castiel, what happened? You left and then I couldn’t reach you.”_
> 
> _Castiel blinked repeatedly, unsettled by the change of setting. He looked around; Naomi’s office._
> 
> _“Answer me, Castiel. Where were you?”_
> 
> _“I was helping the Winchesters with a case,” he answered, although unsure he should._
> 
> _“And how is it that you evaded Heaven’s control?”_
> 
> _“Kulchibboku… they tampered with my grace. They’re dead now.”_
> 
> _Naomi got to her feet and walked around the desk, crossing her arms as she half sat on it. Her gaze on Castiel was dark, but he held it._
> 
> _“I gave you a mission, Castiel. Where are we on that?”_
> 
> _“I was distracted.”_
> 
> _He shivered when she raised that tool she’d used on him before. She leaned forward, aiming it at his left eye. “Do I need to remind you of your purpose, Castiel?”_
> 
> _The angel swallowed the lump in his throat and shook his head. “I remember everything. I won’t let you down again.”_
> 
> _“Not this… you won’t remember a thing about being here. You’ll only know you have things to do.”_

 

“—we’ll fight and I really don’t wanna be doing this.”

Castiel blinked again. He looked up at Dean and tilted his head.

“Why would we fight? I have no reason to fight with you. It’s the last thing I want.”

“Okay, then… I’ll wanna be fighting with you. Is that better?”

“No.”

Castiel got to his feet to start pacing around the room. “I wish none of his had happened, if only to save you from the heartache, Dean.”

“Whoah, there, cowboy! Who said anything about heartache? We fucked, Cas. That’s all it was, okay? No need to lose sleep over it.”

“I don’t sleep.”

“You know what I mean,” Dean said as he pushed his plate away, not hungry anymore. “So… you know… we’re good. You can go back to whatever you were doing when Sam called on you.”

“Dean—”

This time, when Dean cut him off, Castiel heard the anger in his voice. Making the hunter angry hadn’t been the plan, far from it.

“I swear to your dad, Cas… if you try and talk to me about that shit again, I’m gonna fucking punch you. Don’t care that I’ll break my hand doing it.”

With a resigned sigh, Castiel gave the hunter a curt nod and flew away, leaving the hunter to tremble with rage, his white knuckled fists on his sides.

“Good talk…”

Sam had just sat down with his second helping of breakfast – yogurt with granola and fruits because meat still didn’t feel right – when his phone rang. He sighed when he saw his brother’s name pop up on the screen.

“Yeah?” he answered before shoving a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth.

“Sammy? You comin’ out soon? I’d like to hit the road before it gets dark.”

“Relax, Dean… it’s only nine fifteen. Where are you? Have you seen Cas?”

“I’m in the parking lot and Cas went back to wherever. So… come out already, we’re leaving.”

“I’m not done with my breakfast, Dean. I’m not even checked out yet. What’s with the rush all of a sudden?”

“Take your damn breakfast to go and check the fuck out, Sam. If you’re not here in fifteen minutes, I’m leaving without you.”

The line went dead, making Sam shake his head. Clearly, whatever Castiel told Dean hadn’t made things any better. The hunter huffed, already dreading the drive back up North; it would be tensed, whatever old music blaring out of the speakers because Dean wouldn’t want to leave an inch for Sam to try and make him talk.

He finished his bowl in huge spoonfuls before leaving, not wanting to make his brother any more frustrated than he already was. And as he walked out to the Impala parked near the door almost twenty minutes later – at least Dean hadn’t driven away – he couldn’t find it himself to be mad at him.

Less than a month ago, he too had lost someone dear to his heart. It wasn’t exactly the same as he had made the choice not to go back to Amelia whereas Dean had kind of been dumped. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t really the case, it sure as hell was how Dean would see it.

“Hey,” he said when he got on the passenger seat after dropping his and Castiel’s suitcases in the trunk.

“So what? The angel’s too good to carry his own stuff? What the hell are we gonna do with that shit anyway? We don’t even have room for our own stuff, Sam,” Dean said, keeping his eyes forward as he maneuvered the car out of the parking lot.

“Could be useful… we might need him to act human again. Or maybe you’ll find something you like in there… you guys are almost the same si—”

The rest of Sam’s sentence got drowned in some old AC/DC tune. Sam couldn’t have said which one it was; they all sounded the same to him. He didn’t protest, taking his phone out of his pocket to start fiddling with it.

He played a bit of Candy Crush, read the news, did a crossword puzzle, then opened the texting app to start up a new conversation. His finger hovered over Castiel’s name and, after glancing at his brother to see him looking ahead – as he should – he selected it.

He’d never sent Castiel a text – never needed to – but he knew calling him wouldn’t be an option. Not with Dean right next to him. And praying, well… that was pretty much a one-sided kind of deal. Unsure Castiel even got reception in Heaven, Sam bit his bottom lip as he typed.

 

> **Sam:** What did you say to Dean?

Satisfied, Sam shut off his phone and made himself comfortable, thinking he might as well take a nap is he’s going to be subjected to his brother’s brooding. He had just closed his eyes when he felt the phone buzz in his pocket. Castiel had texted him back already.

 

> **Castiel:** I didn’t have time to say much.
> 
> **Sam:** Told you to insist.
> 
> **Castiel:** I tried and now he’s mad at me.
> 
> **Sam:** He’s not mad, he’s hurt. You gotta try again.
> 
> **Castiel:** I have things to do. Important things.
> 
> **Sam:** Sure you can spare a minute to talk to him.
> 
> **Castiel:** I can’t right now. When will you stop for the night?
> 
> **Sam:** Not sure. We might not stop for a while.
> 
> **Castiel:** Let me know when you do. I’ll go see him if I can.
> 
> **Sam:** Ok. Thanks Cas.

Sam shut off his device again and tried again to take a nap. He shut his eyes, only to be disturbed once more, this time by Dean shutting off the music.

“Who were you talking to? Found a job?”

Not having that many people in their circle of friends made it too difficult for Sam to come up with a convincing lie. So he didn’t.

“No new job, was talking to Cas.”

“We just saw him two hours ago. What is it that was so important?”

Before Sam could respond, Dean harrumphed. “Forget I asked,” he said before turning the music back on, even louder than before.

As Sam had suspected, Dean refused that they stopped to sleep, instead making Sam drive so he could take a nap and take the wheel again three hours later. It brought them to Kankakee, Illinois early the next afternoon.

They didn’t waste a minute and tackled the haunting head on. It’d been easy enough, the ghost’s bones salted and burned before the sun even rose the next morning. And then Henry Winchester appeared in their room, followed by an angry redhead who turned out to be a knight of hell, whatever that was.

Dean didn’t speak of Miami again. Any time Sam would try to his voice would get drowned in classic rock or he would be threatened to be fed to a meat grinder. As far as the brothers were concerned, the subject was buried in that box of things they don’t talk about, along with Lisa and Ben, or Amy.

Still, after they found the bunker and got settled – and after they faced necromancer nazis, of all things – Sam prayed their coordinates to Castiel. He begged for him to come and set things right, explaining he’d find Dean alone outside and working on the Impala.

When Castiel appeared near the hunter under the cover of the trees surrounding their newfound home, Dean had his head buried in the engine.

“Hello, Dean,” Castiel said.

As he spoke, Dean kept his head down under the hood. “What’s going on now? Another apocalypse or something? You must have called Sam to know where we were… he’s inside, the door’s op—”

“Can’t I only be here to see you?”

The hunter let out a bitter chuckle, finally straightening up to look at the angel.

“You never come only to see us. There’s always something you need.”

“Like you never pray just to say hello?”

“Touché,” Dean said, a little amused despite himself. He was about to go back to working on his Baby when Castiel came to stand closer to him.

His first instinct was to remind the angel about the concept of personal space, except it kind of felt like a moot point after what they’d gone through. Still, Dean took a step back, only to make sure he couldn’t feel Castiel’s buzzing heat anymore.

“So… that’s it? Wanted to come and say hi?”

“Not really.”

“I knew it!”

“It’s not like that,” Castiel said, trying to catch Dean’s gaze. “I was hoping that you’d be in a better disposition to talk. The last time I tried—”

“Aren’t you worried I’ll actually try and beat you up if you bring up that shit again?”

The air between them may have been tensed, Dean couldn’t hold the quirk in his mouth when he heard the words _Bitch, please!_ pop in his mind when he saw Castiel’s expression. That was all it took for his anger to start melting.

“Yeah… trying to punch an angel… not my best idea.”

Castiel gave him a curt nod, his features going back to angel-business-as-usual. Dean’s heart sank a bit as he remembered the plethora of emotions he’d seen on the angel’s face during their little time together in Miami; joy, anger, fear, lust… tenderness.

Dean shook his head, hoping it would help get rid of those images. He couldn’t keep dwelling on what happened. It never would again, not in this lifetime.

“I don’t want you to think I lied to you, Dean. What I felt when my grace was down, it was real. It is real. I still feel the same, just not… angel’s aren’t built for love. Not that kind of love, anyway. And yet…”

He may have had his eyes on the insides of the Impala, but Dean’s trembling hands wouldn’t let him work. Instead, he held onto the edge of the hood and tried to regulate his breathing to quell the turmoil of emotions.

“Told you before, Cas… I got it! Why the hell do you wanna keep hashing this out for?” he said between clenched teeth. “We had fun for a couple of days, and that’s it. Now could we stop talking about it?”

“If you “got it”, like you say, then why are you mad? You know the way I am is out of my control.”

“Bullshit!” Dean blurted out as he came to stand in Castiel’s face again; screw trying to keep his distance. “You stowed your grace, Cas. You can control it, so don’t give me that crap, all right?”

“And how would me being powerless be helpful, Dean? How would me shutting down the reality of who I am a good thing? Because that’s what you’re asking of me, isn’t it? You want me to lose my grace so we could—”

“Shut your mouth! That’s not what I’m saying, and you know it.”

Dean brushed a hand over his own face, trying to regain some semblance of control. “I’m only pointing out you saying you can’t control not being—not being whatever you were. It’s bullshit, ‘cause you did.”

“My grace is probably the only thing I’m able to control. Those feelings I had—I have—for you, this isn’t something I can control. Not that I would want to.”

“Okay… I’m kinda getting mixed signals here… explain this to me like I’m five.”

“I want you to know that I appreciate you a great deal. And being human with you, if only for a couple of days, was amazing, but—”

“But that’s all it was; a couple of days.”

Dean nodded, his eyes on the expanse of blue overhead. “And like I said before, I totally got that, Cas. Doesn’t mean I’m okay talking about it. It’s just—I’m not like you, okay? I don’t have a way to shut this all down with a snap of my fingers.”

“Sam told me as much, yes.”

 _Of course he did, the little bitch_ , Dean thought, although not unkindly. “Cas… you’re my best friend, all right? And you’re the first guy I ever—the only guy—you know…”

“I know,” Castiel said, choosing not to remind Dean how he’s neither a man nor a woman. He still inhabited a male vessel and it was all most humans could see.

“I just need some time to get over it all, okay? Doesn’t mean I’m mad at you, I just… I need time.”

When Dean smiled at Castiel, it felt genuine. It was small, but it still was a smile. “Plus… relationships? Too complicated and demanding. Don’t know about you, but I got other fish to fry. Just a saying, Cas… means we have other stuff to do,” Dean added when he saw Castiel’s brow lift at the idiom.

“I do have things to do,” Castiel confirmed with a nod. “So… we’re friends again?”

“We never stopped, Cas. Don’t worry about it, all right?”

Without another word, Castiel disappeared, leaving the hunter alone once more. Dean inhaled sharply as he sat on the ground, his legs unable to support his weight anymore. He shook his head and chuckled, a tear sliding down his cheek.

Back then, he believed what he had felt was loss.

Except that pain was nothing compared to almost losing his brother later that same year.

It was nothing compared to having to turn away a human Castiel, one he could maybe love again, to save his brother.

Nothing compared to seeing Castiel get stabbed with his own blade.

It certainly didn’t compare to losing Kevin or Charlie the way that he did.

Nor did it compare to being convinced his brother had actually died and offering Billy to take him instead.

The worse came in the shape of burned wings on the ground where Dean kneeled next to the angel’s dead body… _no way anything could ever be worse than that_ , he thought, praying he’d never live long enough to have to also lose Sammy forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many hours after posting, I realize I forgot to write my end notes!! Better late than never, I say!
> 
> Ain’t got much to say, really. Just that I’m real happy if you read everything, and I’m even happier if you liked it at all.
> 
> What I mean to say is THANK YOU! Please visit the "tfwbigbang2017" tag if you wanna read more from this years Team Free Will Big Bang!
> 
> Have a very nice day, and I hope to hear from you here, or on Tumblr! :D


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